Doctor Who: The Regeneration of Fate
by The Cyberman of Telos
Summary: What if during the end of The Stolen Earth, the Tenth Doctor really did regenerate? And what would the alternate Eleventh Doctor's adventures be? Who would he travel with? This is my interpretation of the events that might occur.
1. Vale Decem

_**Regeneration of Fate - Chapter 1: Vale Decem…..**_

It is night on Planet Earth, also known as Sol III.

Normally, the planet is untouched from outside sources; that being Alien life. But a couple of years ago, things had changed. Aliens would soon emerge from outer space, launching invasions, crashing ships and more.

However, these Alien influences always seemed to be defeated, by a mysterious man. He calls himself the Doctor, and he travels in a Blue Police Box so they say.

Whenever the Earth was in such chaos, the Doctor would appear, ready to deal with the alien threats. And he was not alone; he regularly had a companion, which usually came from Earth.

He is a Time Lord, of the long lost planet of Gallifrey. A veteran of the Last Great Time War. The Doctor's song is ending, yet he does not know the end approaches at this very moment.

Forces of evil are gathering to destroy all of reality, and the Doctor's song is ending at such a time of peril. Yet he is the only hope. He knows his song is ending, but he does not know when. It is happening now. But now, we shall help him.

We are the Ood. We will sing to him. We will sing him to his sleep. The Song may be ending, but the story never ends.

Vale Decem….

* * *

The Doctor and Donna Noble stepped out of the Tardis, into a big, wet, empty street. It was completely deserted, with abandoned cars and countless open doorways of homes.

"Like a Ghost town." Observed Donna, noticing the eeriness of the street around them.

"Sarah Jane said they were taking the people. But what for? Think, Donna, when you met Rose in that parallel world, what did she say?" Asked the Doctor with a frustrated look on his face, determined to get the bottom of things.

Donna thought for a moment. "Just… The Darkness is coming…"

"Anything else?" Replied the Doctor, hoping for more information.

Donna was about to reply with a; "No…", until she noticed a familiar figure standing far behind them.

Then she smiled at the Doctor. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

The Doctor gave her a big frown; "Eh?"

Noticing that Donna was looking over his shoulder, the confused Time Lord slowly turned around.

There he saw a Woman, slowly walking towards them.

Rose.

Both of them made eye contact; Rose with a big smile on her face, the Doctor with a smile of joy and surprise.

Then the Doctor forgot all about the Daleks, and focused only one thing in his mind; reuniting with Rose. He could not wait; neither could she.

Then they started running towards each other, prepared to embrace each other for the first time in years. Donna was so happy for the Doctor, who had told her so much about Rose in the past that Donna didn't need to say anything to let the Doctor know of her presence. And now it seemed the Doctor would have the moment he had been waiting for what seemed so long.

They ran closer…..and closer…and closer and closer….

However, like a demon gliding out of darkness, emerged a Dalek, armed with its signature laser cannon, aiming straight at the number one enemy of the Dalek Race; The Doctor.

"EXTERMINATE!"

The Doctor and Rose both saw the dastardly alien war machine of living hatred approaching as it spoke.

A bolt of deadly laser fire erupted from the Dalek's laser cannon, smashing off the side of the Doctor's torso, barely hitting him, but still a ghostly skeleton image flashing on one side of his body.

The Doctor fell to the road, fortunately not breaking his skull; his eyes closed.

But of out of nowhere, came Captain Jack Harkness, appearing from a bright flash, armed with a Defabricator. And at the exact moment of his appearance, he fired at the Dalek like a tiger pouncing on his prey.

With an electronic scream for a brief second, the Dalek's head exploded with the flames like those of 20 candles, the debris of its Dalekanium crashing to the ground.

Then came a song, which only the half-conscious Doctor could seem to hear, inspiring him to hold onto life a bit longer.

Vale Decem…..

Ad aeternam….

Di Meliora…..

The Doctor opened his eyes with the feeling that his was pain starting to grow, to see Rose reaching to him. He was only just alive, but Rose was able to sense a cold shiver down her beloved Doctor's spine, as he sweated in agony.

"I've got you, it missed, look, I'm here, Doctor, look, it's me…."

The Doctor smiled weakly. "...Rose..."

"Hi."

"Long time... no see..."

"Yeah, been a bit busy, y'know."

The Doctor then gasped in pain, obviously struggling to maintain his life force.

"Don't die, oh my God, don't die." Rose panicked.

This wasn't the first time the Doctor had heard those words. Long ago, at the end of his 3rd incarnation, his companion Sarah Jane Smith had been in Rose's place with the same words; "Don't die…."

"Get him into the Tardis, quick!"

Captain Jack and Donna came running up, both worried for the Doctor. They knew too he was dying, yet only Rose and Captain Jack knew what this could lead to.

Lifting the dying Doctor up, they hurriedly carried him back into the Tardis, as it was the only place he would be less vulnerable from any other Daleks that could be in the street.

Slam! The Doctor dropped to the floor of the Tardis with a slam, lying next to the Console as he cried in agony, with both Rose and Donna panicking in fear around him.

"What do we do?! There's gotta be some sort of Medicine, or-" Cried Donna.

"Just step back. Rose!" Insisted Jack to his old friend. "Do as I say, and get back! He's dying. And you know what happens next!"

Rose was crying. "But he can't. Not now. I came all this way."

"What d'you mean, what happens next?!" Interrupted Donna, frightened for the Doctor.

The Doctor lifted up one of his hands, staring at it as golden energy channelled through his veins, with a slight healing sensation, glowing like an angel.

"...it's starting..." He muttered, with slight hesitation in his voice as he turned his hand around, still staring at the golden glow of Regeneration energy.

Donna stood back, confused and scared of what might happen; the Doctor looked as if he was about to explode! Then Jack pulled Rose, filled with sadness, away from the Doctor, who hurled himself to his feet, with only a small amount of strength left.

"Someone tell me what's going on!" Shouted Donna in fright, very afraid indeed.

For a moment, the Doctor felt as if he was being pulled from reality. Trying to ignore these senses, he set the controls of the Tardis, still weak and in agony.

The Tardis quickly took off, but did not dematerialise. Instead it flew into the air like any old spaceship, taking the Tardis crew into orbit where the Doctor hoped his Regeneration would cause less damage to Earth; that is if the Dalek ships several miles away did not notice.

The Doctor struggled to stay up, as the Tardis spun in orbit, finally at a good range.

Then that sense came back.

The Doctor began hallucinating; A Sontaran, pointing his Blaster; "Doctor, you will die in the name of the Sontaran Empire!"

Then he glimpsed a Dalek, one from the Cult of Skaro; Sec, in his Black Dalek casing.

"DOCTOR, YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!"

Next, a Cyberman; "ALL ENEMIES OF THE CYBERMEN WILL BE DELETED. DELETE, DELETE."

Shockingly, he also hallucinated the most appropriate figure for his death; the Beast, who didn't say a single word, but instead laughed demonically as he did down in his prison when confronted by the Doctor.

At last; The Master, as he was when he was lying in the Doctor's arms aboard the Valiant last year when he was travelling with Martha Jones.

"Dying Doctor? It seems I win! I WIN! AHAHAHAHA!"

Then everything came back into focus; not a single second seemed to pass during his hallucinations, as Rose, Donna and Captain Jack stood back, prepared for the Doctor's inevitable Regeneration.

And the Doctor could still hear the Ood singing to him; his Song was about to end…

Vale Decem…..

Gratis tibi ago…..

Ad aeternam…..

Numquam singularis…..

"When he's dying. His body. It repairs itself. It changes." Rose explained to the Donna, not completely taking her eyes off the Doctor. She was extremely upset.

Dum spiro fido…..

"But you can't!" She exclaimed, begging for the Doctor not to change, and to somehow perform a miracle that would somehow heal himself.

Numquam…

But not this time…

"Sorry. It's too late." Smiled the Tenth Doctor for one final time.

He gasped.

Vale, vale, vale, vale …

"I'm regenerating."

He then erupted with Regeneration energy, like a fuming volcano; blasting golden inferno all around the Tardis Console Room, which tore into the cables and circuitry underneath the floorboards, soaring through like the universe's most powerful chainsaw, shredding everything in its path before bursting into flames and spreading debris everywhere.

There was inferno everywhere on the Time Lord; his head, his arms, his hands and even his neck!

Donna almost screamed in shock at this dangerously explosive sight, scared that the Doctor might take the entire Tardis with him!

Rose gasped as the coral pillars holding up parts of the Roundel roof collapsed onto the console, barely missing them as they backed further away from the regenerating Time Lord and the dancing flames surrounding the console.

Backed into a corner, they watched as their friend continued spreading inferno everywhere.

The Time Lord did not scream; he held back any form of fear except for that on his face; he could feel every cell is his body morphing and growing again, like they were emerging from cocoons. His hair began to fade and grow at the same time, while his muscles decreased in size dramatically.

He threw his head back a little, trying pull himself to one side momentarily, but the pain was too much for him to handle. He barely shifted his arms in the direction of his spare hand!

The Cloister Bell ringing faintly in the background, as the Tardis detected the damage and the regeneration of her beloved thief….

As his features finally began to vanish into the inferno, he took one split-second glance at his companions, especially Rose, before his eyeballs shifted back to their regular position. A new face was forming!

"AHHHHHHHH!" Finally screamed the figure at the last moment as the Inferno suddenly vanished; but it was not the Tenth Doctor.

In the place of the regenerating Doctor, stood a fresh, younger looking Time Lord, still in his predecessor's clothing, dazed and blinking to recover from the regeneration.

Donna, who had her face in Jack's arm, looked up at the New Doctor, utterly shocked and almost appalled at the sight of the man.

Jack both frowned and stared at the Time Lord in heavy interest, wondering about his new personality, but still shocked at just how violent the process was.

Rose didn't move her head at all once she caught sight of the Eleventh Doctor, still filled with sadness at the loss of the Tenth Doctor.

KABOOM!

Part of the Console exploded as the Doctor staggered backwards, moving his muscles for the first time in this incarnation.

"Legs! Still got legs, good!" Came the first words of the New Doctor, lifting up his right leg and kissing it in relief.

Lowering his legs, he amusingly observed his fingers; "Arms! Hands! Ooh, lots of fingers!"

Running them over his face, he attempted to feel parts of his face.

"Ears, yes! Eyes, two! Nose, I've had worse. Chin, blimey!" Squeaked the Doctor.

"Hair... I'm a girl!" He cried in disbelief.

"NO!" He checked for his Adams apple. It was still there, or at least a new one.

"Not a girl." He sighed with relief, not noticing Donna's gobsmacked reaction.

Then he yanked down a strand of his new hair, looking at it with the most sincere curiosity; " Oh! And still not ginger!" He grumped, disappointed his latest incarnation still lacked the right hair colour for himself.

"And something else, something important, I'm, I'm, I'm –" He tapped two sides of his head, trying to think hard.

KRAKADOOM! The Tardis then shuddered; The New Doctor was thrown against the console, with the View screen miraculously having survived destruction from the entire inferno.

"HAHA! Crashing!? " He yelled in excitement like an utter madman, similar to what his previous incarnation had done during his first few moments.

Rose and the others gasped as the Roundels on the wall kept bursting around them, so they dived for cover. The entirety of the Tardis was now engulfed with destruction; and for some reason the Eleventh Doctor was enjoying it!

Debris falling everywhere! Cloister Bell ringing louder than ever! Smoke pouring from all directions! It was utter mayhem!

The Doctor then clang onto the Console, as suddenly something hit the Tardis exterior, causing even more inferno to emerge!

Rose realised exactly what it was; the Dalek ships had noticed the exploding Tardis and were now attacking!

"AHA! WOO HOO! WOOP WOO! AH-HA!" Yelled the Doctor, grabbing the View screen, which was showing that the Tardis was hurtling out of control, headed straight for Earth!

"GERONIMO!" Shouted the Eleventh Doctor, as the girls screamed, with Captain Jack barely managing to cover them from the debris…..

* * *

 _Author's note: I am aware that the Tenth Doctor in the Stolen Earth did not begin regenerating as violently, but I have decided that in order to make the rest of the story to work, this was the best route to take. For now, lets say he was holding back the regeneration for slightly longer, and it burst out more violently in this alternate timeline. Also, I'd like further chapters to progress the new Doctor's personality differently to the 11th Doctor we know, so in my opinion; this was the best starting point. But just in case that's not enough, I also made a Dalek ship shoot the Tardis while it is in orbit. - **The Cyberman of Telos**_


	2. Rebirth

_**Regeneration of Fate - Chapter 2: Rebirth - Journey's End Part 1**_

Every tale has its end.

Even for the Doctor, his Journey comes to an end.

Regeneration can change a Time Lord in many ways.

And his companions, their Journey with him must end too, for a new tale begins.

One song has ended. Now begins the Eleventh Hour…..

 _Receperint undecim..._

It was night on Planet Earth, and the Dalek Crucible was hovering up in the Medusa Cascade, with several Daleks on board.

But right now, the Supreme Dalek was focused on one thing; capturing the Doctor! Reports had come in that the Doctor's spaceship, The TARDIS, was flying over a sector of Earth known as: London, England.

"EXTERMINATE THE DOCTOR AT ONCE! DO NOT LET THE TARDIS ESCAPE!" Commanded the loud boomingly amplified voice of the Dalek, focused on its goal.

However, the TARDIS wasn't exactly flying over London….It was hurtling out of control.

KABOOM! Came massive and furious explosions from the Type 40 Gallifreyian Time Capsule, spinning constantly and jerking about in the air as the damaged windows of the Exterior kept erupting with flames from the interior, spreading flames over the blue wood of the Police Box disguise, not burning them, but certainly turning the ship into a literal living oven!

The Interior's condition was even worse; half the console blasted away as Debris, all around the fuming Inferno surrounding the Console Room. The floor's design didn't help at all as the flames peeped out of them like millions of candles lit in precise places with their flames reaching out of air pockets. The Time Rotor spluttered and was cracked, but the Heart of the TARDIS; The Eye of Harmony, far below the Console Room pushed on and refused to stop channelling energy to keep the Time Rotor moving and somewhat controlling the damaged TARDIS.

As for the Doctor? He had been almost thrown out of the TARDIS, and was now groaning in pain as he held on for dear life to the floor on the Interior, surrounded by the Exterior with its doors flapping open through the air.

It didn't help that the Doctor had only just emerged from an unexpected Regeneration, and was struggling to gather his strength, considering that this was not the normal outcome of regeneration; the adrenaline was almost too much for him!

"MPPHHH! ARRGHHH!" Mumbled the New Doctor, with his Sonic Screwdriver in his mouth.

"DOCTOR!" Screamed Rose. "HELP HIM! HE CAN'T HOLD ON FOREVER!"

Rose was kneeling beside a damaged coral pillar that used to connect to the roof, now it was in pieces; having smashed against a now-exploded panel on the console.

She was already shocked by the regeneration of the Doctor she had come all this way to reunite with, but now she still couldn't bear to see the new incarnation fall to his death!

"NO ROSE! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS! KEEP BACK!" Shouted Captain Jack, begging for Rose to not approach the Doctor when the floor was bursting with flames.

Donna on the other hand, was holding tight onto Jack, who put his arm over her neck while shielding themselves from the Inferno in a tight corner.

As another explosion shattered part of the Time Rotor, the TARDIS was now spinning above the Millennium Dome, which like the majority of London, was unlit due to the recent Dalek attacks.

In pain from some of his cells still not finished in the regeneration process, the Doctor painstakingly tried to pull himself up onto the floor, with only side of his body having strong enough muscles to do the job.

It was no use; he was still dangling from the threshold!

BING BONG.

The Doctor jerked his head towards the direction of the sound; it was Big Ben, in the distance, somehow still chiming despite the attacks. And he was heading straight towards it!

But the Doctor was already working on it; sacrificing his left hand from holding onto the inside of the TARDIS, then held on tight and snatched the Sonic from his mouth and pushed hard on the button, pointing it at a lever on the console.

SLAM! The lever flipped down, making the TARDIS bop for a moment before levitating up, as the Time Lord almost lost his grip!

Now holding onto the very edge of the TARDIS floor, with his screwdriver only just put back in his pocket, the Doctor screamed in shock as the tip of Big Ben came rushing to meet him.

With a lucky split second reaction however, he lifted his legs up as high as he could when the TARDIS bounced upwards automatically, with him barely scraping his shoes on the tip.

"Phew…" Breathed the Doctor with a sigh of relief.

Then, with a new bit of strength, the exhausted dark haired man with the swirly-patterned tie lifted himself back into the Interior, slamming the doors behind him as he collapsed, lying against them.

But before he could recover his strength enough to pull himself towards the wrecked Console, another enormous explosion ricocheted from the floor, sending the TARDIS spinning like mad into orbit, straight towards the Dalek Fleet!

 _ **DOCTOR WHO**_

Starring:

 _ **MATT SMITH**_

 _ **CATHERINE TATE**_

 _ **FREEMA AGYEMAN**_

 _ **JOHN BARROWMAN**_

WITH _**ELISABETH SLADEN**_

AND _**BILLIE PIPER**_

 **SERIES 4 EPISODE 13: JOURNEY'S END**

Blasted back from the impact of the explosion, the Doctor had miraculously survived, and stared in frustration at the barely functioning time rotor surrounded by dangling wires and fried circuitboards, while brushing debris off him.

There was only one thing for it; he had to retreat with his companions into a different room of the TARDIS. But the only way out was blocked by broken coral pillar debris!

Flinging his jacket off, the Doctor hurriedly flapped it over the fire on the coral, only just putting it out and dirtying it.

With a bit of courage, he pulled the coral away, and lifted up part of the floor, leading to a secret pit with a ladder leading to extra rooms.

"COME ON!" Yelled the Doctor, motioning towards his companions to follow him.

As the Doctor threw himself into the pit, Rose checked on Donna and Jack, who crawled as close as possible.

"YOU HEARD HIM! FOLLOW ME!" Said the young girl over the sound of Inferno.

Then all three companions lunged down into the pit, with Jack putting the floorboard back in its place before any flames could reach the pit.

Soon after, the Daleks finally succeeded in capturing the TARDIS, by using a chronon loop to pull it straight into the Crucible.

"TRANSFERRING TARDIS TO THE CRUCIBLE!" Droned one of the Daleks in the Command Deck.

"BRING IT HERE! BRING THE DOCTOR TO ME!" Ordered the Supreme Dalek, whom out of all Daleks seemed to be the most emotionless, at least on the outside. Its multiple dome lights burst with activity as its ruthless tone became the sole ambience of the Command Deck.

But then, a calm but sinister voice came from the speakers.

"Restrain yourself, Supreme Dalek. Soon the Doctor and his Children of Time will come before me and-…Oh; a day in the history of the Universe will be made."

Down in the Vault, the sinister voice was coming from the mouth of a deformed man in a transport device shaped like half of a Dalek's body.

It was Davros, the last of the Kaled Race and the creator of the entire Dalek Race.

A Megalomaniac born on Planet Skaro, he had grown up in the Thousand Year War, which towards the end of he became a scientist, developing new ways for the Kaleds to survive the constant horror and destruction of the war.

But when he came up with the idea for the Mark III Travel Machine, he had done so without mercy or compassion. It was only part of his idea to create the ultimate creature of death. This was the Beginning of the Daleks, who initially by themselves were merely mutated Kaleds placed into armour equivalent of that to a destructive War Machine.

Davros had been so insane that he had even allowed the opposing side; the Thals, to wipe out the majority of his own race, murdering them without regret.

It was that same time he had met the Doctor, who was at the time in his Fourth Incarnation. Ever since they had debated on whether the creation of the Daleks was right, and Davros had never agreed it was wrong; they were his creation, and he felt it was necessary for them to use their power to survive, and soon became the master race of the Universe.

And he'd never forget one of his first conservations with the Doctor, all those years ago….

"Davros, if you had created a virus in your laboratory, something contagious and infectious that killed on contact, a virus that would destroy all other forms of life, would you allow its use?" The Fourth Doctor had asked him, hoping to convince the Kaled Scientist that what he was doing was not right for the Universe.

"It is an interesting conjecture." Davros had replied, pondering about the question.

"Would you do it?"

"The only living thing, a microscopic organism reigning supreme. A fascinating idea."

"But would you do it?" The Doctor had asked again, determined to change Davros' intentions.

"Yes. Yes… To hold in my hand a capsule that contains such power, to know that life and death on such a scale was my choice. To know that the tiny pressure on my thumb, enough to break the glass, would end everything. Yes, I would do it! That power would set me up above the gods! AND THROUGH THE DALEKS, I SHALL HAVE THAT POWER!"

This was undoubtedly the core of Davros' insanity, which had helped to him to survive for so long.

In fact, even when in the first year of the Time War, Davros had been saved by Dalek Caan of the Cult of Skaro, who took him back to the Present Day before his ship crashed into the "jaws of the Nightmare Child" as the Tenth Doctor had described it recently.

"Our victory approaches. My Revenge fulfilled! AND SOON THE END OF REALITY ITSELF!" Screamed the Kaled Scientist maniacally.

Back in the TARDIS, bits of smoke flushed out from destroyed roundels in the console room, with the Time Rotor making rather sick sounding noises, almost as if it was struggling to hold on for life; the regeneration had badly damaged the console room at first, but now the destruction had spread through the floorboards into other parts of the Interior, causing further damage that even reached close to the Eye of Harmony. Also, the chronon loop had completely drained control of the ship's flight path, so it was completely at the Daleks' mercy.

Below the console, and under the pit that the crew had hidden in, the newly regenerated Doctor regained consciousness, and stumbled out of the pit and back into the console room, which seemed somewhat battered with the amount of damaged coral and roundel pieces scattered around on the floor.

His multiple companions also regained consciousness, and tailed carefully after the brand new Doctor.

Now that all the excitement seemed to be over for now, they could get back to business.

"Whoa. Look at that!" Grinned the Doctor with a playful glee, amazed yet surprised to see the TARDIS in such a heavily damaged state. Sure, he'd seen the old Type 40 struggle throughout its history with him, facing total destruction on numerous occasions he couldn't even begin naming all of, but this was certainly a first; the last TARDIS in the universe, nearly in tatters inside with a smoking exterior without its shiny glass on the windows. "My beautiful ship, what have I done to you?"

Jack also stared at the console room in disbelief; having grown incredibly fond of it as had everyone who travelled the Ninth and Tenth Doctors. But being a team leader of sorts, he had to get everyone focused, especially the Doctor. He'd known two of his incarnations so far, but he'd only first met the previous one during an accidental trip to the end of the universe, and by then he was no longer in a post-regenerative state. Could he possibly get through to this mad, new stranger of a Time Lord?

"Ahem, Doctor?" Piped up the Captain, hoping to get a good look at the Time Lord's new face.

"Eh?" The Doctor span round very quickly, brushing dust off his predecessor's brown jacket. "Ah! Daleks! Ah course! Daleks, lots of em! Exterminate! Exterminate! He he! Come on Turlough, we've got Davros to beat! No wait, you're….Jack! Captain Jack Harkness. And Rose! LONG TIME NO SEE! Oh, Donna! Yes! Hang on, we need a plan! Find out what the Daleks are up to and…."

Gasping slightly, he stuttered in his sentence and belched out a magically golden breath of regeneration energy; instantly recognised by Rose, who watched as it sprinkled and unravelled like floating wool into multiple atoms before fading out slowly.

She next returned her gaze to the new Doctor, also studying his appearance, with Donna doing so most especially with her gobsmacked expression.

The Time Lord was fairly youthful at first glance, with the grin of a man in his twenties, and he was sporting the largest chin any of his companions had seen. His ears blasted upwards like rocket fins, fitting nicely amongst his slightly long and combed back scruffy brown hair. This was easily the youngest Jack had ever seen the Doctor, and as once before, he had to admit, he looked rather pretty for a Time Lord from the Planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous.

Donna didn't even speak. Why did this have to happen and why now? Was this really what Time Lords did when they were about to die? Even with a bit of info from Jack during the last moments of her Doctor's life, she didn't exactly understand the whole state her best friend was undergoing. With all that explosive bolts of inferno that nearly wrecked the TARDIS he seemed have done more than just change his appearance. Now he was more alien than ever to her!

Rose, probably taking the bravest move of all, stepped closer to the Doctor and did her best to hold back any remaining tears. As painful as this ordeal had been so far, she believed she was perfectly capable of approaching this with more faith than before. He was still the Doctor after all, right?

Doctor, are you alright?" She asked hopefully.

Only understanding her tone a little, the Doctor remarked back; "Am I? Yes, I am."

Watching as his hands briefly glowed with yet another tingle of regeneration energy, he then quickly kneeled down, realising something he'd just forgotten. "Wait. No, no, no! Where is it?"

As the Doctor frantically searched underneath the half-destroyed console, Donna immediately snapped out loud; "My god. You changed your face, and you're okay about it?! What is up with you Time Lords?"

"Come on now Victoria, I'll explain in good time! I just need to know if it's here….." Muttered back the Doctor, his memory a little shifty after the regeneration.

With the Doctor obviously occupied, Rose took over for him and answered Donna's question; "Donna, it's more than that. He's completely regenerated! Everything about him is new and his brain is going through a complete rewrite. If anything goes wrong, it's our job to look after him."

At the exact moment that Donna was about the reply, the Doctor cheered in relief, and pulled out a familiar glass container from a shattered collection of wires below the console and immediately slamming it down on the floor as a mysterious hand bubbled within, almost twitching as it were alive; regeneration energy briefly flowed through it, which the Doctor quickly blew away before it scattered into harmless atoms.

"Remember this? My hand, that hand there, my handy spare hand! Remember, Christmas Day, Sycorax, lost my hand in a swordfight? That's my hand! What d'you think?" Asked the Doctor, obviously trying to impress everyone.

Rose _did_ recognise it, thinking back to the day that the Tenth Doctor awoke from his post-regeneration coma and instantly proved himself to her with his fantastic sword-fighting skills. If this new Doctor could succeed in defeating an entire Dalek Empire without suffering any 'neural implosions' as he had suffered in the past after regeneration, then that would definitely be enough to mark him down as a worthy successor.

Still though, she had come all this way to find his predecessor, and losing him was beginning to feel more painful than losing her first Doctor. But she had to cope. Both Jack and Donna needed her and the Doctor's guidance, or they'd suffer from the wrath of the Daleks.

And then, as if he'd read her mind, the Doctor sympathetically informed her; "I tried Rose. I tried. I was going siphon off the rest of the energy into a handy bio-matching receptacle, my hand here, but….I couldn't hold it off for much longer."

Hoping she would accept, he slowly pulled himself in for a sympathetic hug, to which she did embrace, but only with slight tears. She came so far, but she still found him. Things just hadn't entirely gone to plan.

"Um….Doctor? The Time Rotor's stopped moving…." Said Donna suddenly.

Within mere seconds, the Doctor let go of Rose and launched into a slight panic; "No no! Of course! How could I be so stupid? We've haven't crashed, they've got us! Power's gone! Probably some kind of chronon loop!"

"There's a massive Dalek ship, at the centre of the planets, they're calling it the Crucible. Guess that's our destination." Commented Jack, noticing how dark the ship looked without any power.

"The other Doctor…..I mean…You said all these planets were like an engine. But what for?" Asked Donna, trying not to be rude when addressing the new Doctor. She was still feeling uneasy around him, especially since he almost seemed to shrug off the fact that he just changed, and continue from where his predecessor had left off. Just like the regeneration never happened, but it did…..

"Rose?" The Doctor span back to face her, watching as their shadows collided. It felt strange, not seeing the dark shape of his spiky hair casted onto the floor as she was used to. "That parallel world you've been in, it's ahead of our world. You saw what the Daleks would do in the future. What was it..?"

With a touch of sorrow and a wipe of her tears, she breathed and murmured; "Th-there was darkness."

"The stars were going out." Donna remembered, thinking back to the scuffle with a Time Beetle on Shan Shen.

"One by one." Rose carried on for Donna. "We looked up at the sky. And they were dying. And at the same time, the walls between dimensions started to unravel. Cos we'd been building this travel machine, a Dimension Cannon, so I could...I-"

She paused, wiping more tears. "So I could come back…" It was difficult to talk about reuniting with the Doctor when she was talking about a different man to the one who stood before her, who listened attentively, but with a moody expression on his youthful face.

"C-cos the dimensions were starting to collapse. Not just our world, not just yours, but the whole of reality. Even the Void was dead. Something is destroying everything." Rose finished, taking a silent breath and consciously reminding herself to keep focused. No amount of sobbing could bring her Doctor back. She'd learned that the hard way.

Donna, noticing Rose struggling to stay calm, stepped in with an important question of her own. "But in that parallel world... You said something about me."

"Yeah, the Dimension Cannon could measure the Time Lines. And it was weird, Donna. They all seemed to converge... On you."

"But why me? What have I ever done? I'm a temp. From Chiswick!" Protested Donna with large emphasis. Now she was utterly bewildered; first the Doctor is nearly killed and changes his entire face and personality, and some weird timelines revolved around her, apparently!

Abruptly, a low-level beep sounded from the battered and cracked TARDIS scanner. Amongst all the wrecked circuitry of the TARDIS, it was the luckiest to survive. With all the ambient humming everyone would expect inside the TARDIS now reduced to a spooky silence, nothing seemed like it would grab their attention than a barely functioning monitor, proved by the Doctor swinging himself across the coral console and perching in full eye contact with it.

Despite near-fatal error warnings flashing about as the screen kept flickering with brief static, the Time Lord could just about make out the image; and it didn't give him friendly thoughts. "Looks like we're approaching the Dalek Crucible! I guess I'll have to discuss morals with Davros again, at least that what he exp-p-p-e-garrghhh!"

From the moment the Doctor blurted a cry of pain, Rose edged forwards, very worried. "Doctor?"

"No need to worry Jo! I'm perfectly alright! The Sea Devils will be able to negotiate with me anytime soon! I sure hope the Master isn-OW-W-W!" The Doctor yelped; his brain was imploding from within, as he repressed several memories from his past.

"Run Brigadier!" Screamed the Doctor in pain. "I can't come with you. Neural implosions are intensifying by 67%! If the Ogrons find me, they'll take me to Daleks where I'll be most vulnerable!"

"Doctor, what's happening to you? Is it a seizure?" Gasped Donna.

"Leave me behind, it's not safe! My frontal lobe is failing, if I don't stabilise my bio-chemistry I'll be done for!" Cried the Doctor, more fearful than Donna had ever seen his predecessor, and that included seeing Davros on the scanner only recently!

As the Doctor continued to clutch his throat, Rose and Donna hurriedly picked up the Time Lord and dragged him onto the control deck chair, where his head fell back as his vision began to fade. "Buy me some time, Rose….Donna…Jack….I-I-Rest…Must rest….N-n-no time-t-to find the Z-z-zero Room….."

Sleepily, the Doctor fell into a deep coma, his muscles no longer stretching and his chest ceasing to pulse. His eyes were firmly shut like barred windows, just like a closed off house with silent occupants. He barely moved, with only crisps of breathing exhaling from his nose.

"Doctor, Doctor!" Donna shook her best friend.

Nobody could believe their eyes; the Doctor's regeneration was already in trouble, just as Rose had experienced before, but this seriously was the absolute worst moment for it to have occurred. Facing a mighty Dalek Empire at the height of its power without its number one enemy to stop them? It was pure suicide!

"Donna, it's no use. He'll be out for quite a while. I'm sorry; it looks like we're on our own for now." Rose sighed, the grimness of the situation getting to her.

CLUNK. The TARDIS shook wildly as the chronon loop vanished outside its exterior. Smoke continued to pour out the shattered windows, even as Daleks approached it.

"THE TARDIS IS SECURED." Barked one of the Daleks, reporting to the Supreme Dalek, which retorted in the most commanding voice that any human would shiver at hearing; "DOCTOR, YOU WILL STEP FORTH OR DIE."

"We can't just stand here and do nothing, surely we can help him?" Pleaded Donna, desperate not to leave the Doctor's side for fear that his condition would get worse.

Jack nodded in agreement; "Rose? You know more about regeneration than we do. Do you have any idea what might happen?"

Rose sighed again; "We can't wake him, that's for sure. His brain will need to recover before we even think of waking him up."

"Well that's no use! So _what_ are we going to do?!" Growled Donna, more panicked than annoyed.

"What about your Dimension Jump?" Suggested Jack to Rose.

"Needs twenty minutes to recharge, so it's useless at the moment." Rose shook her head. "Is your Vortex Manipulator up to shape?"

"Nope, went down with the power loss. Nuthin' can fix it right now." Jack said sadly.

Yet while her friends were echoing in the back of her mind about their strategies, Donna remained in a fixed position, becoming more and more oblivious to her surroundings, as if she were in a deep trance. Eventually, she could no longer hear anyone or anything; just the heartbeat…..That heartbeat….She recognised it distinctively….And with its powerful grasp, she was nearly hypnotised; staring into deep space as she wondered where the sound was coming from…..

Meanwhile, Jack and Rose had come to the scary conclusion that even if the TARDIS was supposed to be the safest place they could be, that considering the sheer strength of this new Dalek Empire it would be extremely risky to stay inside, even with the Doctor. So it was now or never; exit the time machine and face the New Dalek Empire, or possibly face destruction if they remained inside.

"DALEKS REIGN SUPREME. ALL HAIL THE DALEKS!" Echoed the bombastic and droning speech of the Daleks, all hovering about outside chanting those exact words again and again, something that only their voices could channel fear and devastation into the hearts of their enemies who were at their very mercy.

"Well….Here we go….I guess…." Sighed Jack, dropping his enormous gun onto the TARDIS floor. He held tight onto Rose' hand, and began to march down towards the door, very slowly, only delaying the inevitable.

Noticing Donna wasn't following them, Rose piped up; "Donna? Come on Donna, I'm sorry. There isn't anything we can do for him now. Just come outside, please."

But Donna remained still, continuing to look in the face of nothingness; a perplexed expression painted on her, as the heartbeat pulsed more and more, being the only sound in the universe that seemed to attract her attention.

Nevertheless, Rose and Jack pushed open the wooden doors, with its glass panes totally shattered as smoke emerged from every window of the exterior. They were indeed marvelled at the height of the Dalek Empire; towering above them lay the most titanic group of Dalek soldiers they'd ever seen, all bursting with activity and screeching electronic noise that together created the most intimidating alien ambience one could ever dream of! The Crucible was more than just a battleship from what the interior showed, as such an infestation of evil shouldn't have ever been possible at a scale like this, stomping all over the peace that Earth had sworn to keep, and nearly wrecking everything that any human had ever known. Such cruelty extended to the annihilation of families of non-compliant humans, the enhancing of fear, the torture of those ever so afraid, the emotionless ambition that completely went against the moral thinking of any being not like them and overall a presence that remained so hellish and unimaginable that even one Dalek could throw a planet into chaos, let alone an underground museum in 2012. Rose had known that ever since the very first encounter with a Dalek who had survived the Time War.

"DALEKS REIGN SUPREME. ALL HAIL THE DALEKS! DALEKS REIGN SUPREME. ALL HAIL THE DALEKS!" The Daleks repeated numerously.

Rose and Jack were so worried, now that they pretty much had zero clue on what they could do. Should they let the Daleks take them and hope that the Doctor recovers in time? If that were the only choice, it was certainly scary enough to raise the levels of their nervousness.

"SPEAK!" Roared the Supreme Dalek, noticing an anomaly; the Doctor was not present with his human associates! "WHERE IS THE TIME LORD? THE DOCTOR MUST BE PRESENT! WHERE IS THE DOCTOR? EXPLAIN!"

"H-he's n-n-not here….He won't come." Stuttered Rose, making a very low-impact excuse.

"ELABORATE! WHY WON'T THE DOCTOR APPROACH?" Commanded the Supreme Dalek, its amplified voice booming at alarming rates.

"He just won't. He's not going to face you. He'd rather know what's going on first!" Rose replied, trying to be firm. She held Jack's hand tightly, knowing that this probably wouldn't help much, but at least it could buy the Doctor a little time.

Jack on the other hand, turned back towards the TARDIS and whispered out; "Donna! Just get out of there! You don't stand more of a chance in there as we do out here!"

Just then, Donna finally snapped out of the trance. Dazed and confused, she slowly made her way down to the door in the direction of Jack's voice. But much to her shock; they closed!

"Donna? Donna!" Cried Jack, clambering up the doors as soon as they'd shut.

"Jack? Rose? What have you done? Oy! I'm not staying behind!" Donna barked, furiously yanking at the doors.

"It wasn't us! Keep pulling!" Rose tried assisting Jack, as the Daleks stared down at them.

"I AM!" Snapped Donna, still having no success in opening doors.

Rose pondered for a moment; the Daleks. It must've been them who'd done it; why else would the doors have shut like that? "What've you done?! Why did you trap her inside?" She confronted the Supreme Dalek.

"THIS IS NOT OF DALEK ORIGIN." Droned the mutated cyborg with a monotone voice.

"Then let her out! Please!" Rose begged, knowing full-well that both Donna and the Doctor could be in deep trouble.

"THIS IS TIME LORD TREACHERY." The Supreme Dalek placed the blame.

"It wasn't the Doctor! The doors shut themselves!" Came another protest from Rose, who tried her damnedest to sound fearless, though she really was feeling frightened.

"She's speaking the truth, just let Donna out!" Jack helped his friend.

"NEVERTHELESS. THE TARDIS IS A WEAPON. AND IF THE DOCTOR REFUSES TO STEP FORWARD AND FACE HIS DESTINY, IT WILL BE DESTROYED!" Roared the Supreme Dalek.

Out of nowhere, a panel of the floor slid open, revealing a trapdoor. The TARDIS dropped through, like a stone, and then it was gone! Rose and Jack had backed away just in time, but remained in shock as they turned to face the Daleks.

"No! Stop! Where's it gone? Where is it!?" Screamed Rose to the Supreme Dalek.

Back inside the Type 40 Time Capsule, Donna held onto a rail for dear life, yelling; "Doctaaaa!" to the sleeping Time Lord, who bounced up and down in his sleep on the deck chair, not even moving a muscle by himself. Debris from the damage caused by the regeneration was now starting to fall down again, as the Police Box exterior soared down a metal shaft like the universe's fastest rollercoaster, on a track that lunged the passengers down and down and down into the depths of darkness….


	3. Constant heartbeats

_**Regeneration of Fate - Chapter 3 - The constant heartbeats... - Journey's End Part 2**_

"THE CRUCIBLE HAS A HEART OF Z-NEUTRINO ENERGY. THE TARDIS WILL BE DEPOSITED INTO THE CORE." Bluntly confirmed the Supreme Dalek, turning its head towards a viewscreen that faded into existence.

"But they're still in there! The Doctor and Donna!" Rose protested, her fear increasing every millisecond.

"Let her out!" Added Jack.

But the Supreme Dalek wouldn't listen. "THE DOCTOR AND THE TARDIS WILL PERISH TOGETHER. OBSERVE. THE LAST CHILD OF GALLIFREY IS POWERLESS!"

The viewscreen flickered yet again, its white digital frame stuttering slightly in the process.

And what it revealed to the horror-struck Rose and Jack could not be a sight worse than they were seeing; the TARDIS completely engulfed a bed of flames! It kept bopping up and down as the smoking windows opened the way for the dreadfully hellish inferno.

And inside, Donna was on her knees by the console, holding onto the deck chair as she coughed amongst the fumes of pale white smoke and flames again pouring like candles through the already half-destroyed TARDIS. It was boiling hot…So hot…..So agonisingly hot…..The red-haired girl couldn't take any more of it; it was like suffocating next to the sun!

She remained helpless, even as she crawled in desperate pain from the heat towards the unconscious Doctor. And even his body temperature had begun to rise as did the heat!

"Doctor…..Doctor, please! Help me!" Cried Donna, tears forming out of her fear and sweat from the heat, raining down her face as begged for a miracle in the face of eternal doom. The man who she'd met on her wedding day in December 2007 had always been there for her ever since they'd began travelling together, saving her from life-threatening situations such as this where he'd always had some sort of plan coupled with a boringly complicated mixture of technobabble before he finally gave a simple explanation. But it seemed that was no more. "DOCTOR! WAKE UP! Don't leave me here! PLEASE! Don't die on me!"

Her cries and tears came no avail as the Time Lord failed to respond, barely shifting from the incoming bursting of the roundel lights all across the room, shattering more and more glass to add to the piles already created by the inferno of the Doctor's regeneration.

It felt like the end, but it was not, however.

Donna froze yet again; even with the heat becoming totally unbearable, it was like part of her nervous system had shut down, with the rest of the mind purely transfixed towards the very sight that seemed most important. Not just to her, nor the world, nor a galaxy, nor the whole universe but rather all of space and time itself. Thoughts and echoes of time rippled across into an ambient atmosphere, suppressing all that she could feel, as she was pulled closer to the Doctor's spare hand, bubbling like mad inside the jar…

"Smoke…..Heat…And noise….Adrenaline!" Burst out a giddy voice out of nowhere; the new Doctor had snapped back into consciousness, alerted by the sudden temperature change, which caused both of his hearts to pump extremely fast, re-invigorating his brain. It was common knowledge to Time Lords that regeneration could cause several failures of the brain, which could only be corrected temporarily by adrenaline, setting it into a prime focus. He'd experienced a situation very similar during his fourth regeneration, and the stakes were just as high here!

But Donna had heard none of this; she reached closer and closer towards the jar as the Doctor recovered his senses, trying very hard to see despite his partial blindness. He blinked several times before he caught sight of Donna edging herself straight at the jar. He gasped and coughed; "No no no! Donna…..Keep back…..You mustn't touch that!"

With all the strength his body had just managed to regain, he dived forwards, shoving Donna's hand out of the way, just as another pile of flame erupted from the floor.

Just then, Donna regained her senses and made yet another gasp for breath amongst the high temperature. She wasn't injured luckily, but she was definitely confused and shocked; "D-D-Doctor?"

Kneeling down, the Time Lord had lain his hand straight on top of the jar as he pulsed up and down, his hand and arm glowing with the same golden energy that had appeared before his appearance changed; soothing and swerving all across, the energy seemed to flow around the jar for a bit. But then, the jar shattered tremendously!

The Doctor landed on his back, coughing as he once again dusted off his smoked jacket. "Donna! What's going on? Are you all right?"

But Donna merely threw her arms onto the Time Lord with some relief; she was exhausted, confused and very scared. Returning the embrace, the Doctor had leaned up to look in the direction of where the jar had been.

"Oh my god! You're alive! I thought I'd have to die all alone…." Donna breathed; her tears increasing as her many emotions took charge.

"D-donna…..My hand! Look!" Replied the Time Lord, pointing behind Donna.

Much to the Chiswick girl's amazement, the hand was lying by itself on the floor, twitching and glowing with regeneration energy, illuminating more light than even the flames around it. And without warning, a burst of golden particles scattered into a specific order, forming atom after atom in the shape of a humanoid body. The energy sparkled countlessly as the atoms moved simultaneously to the muscular movements of the hand, orchestrating the atomic bonding and rebirth of a very familiar face that immediately shot up into the presence of the two time travellers; a spiky brown haired man with ginger sideburns and the most rip-roaring grin one had ever seen; the Doctor!

"It's you!" Gasped Donna in awe and delight, as did the Eleventh Doctor with an "Ah" of dumbfounded amazement. The man them before was the very Doctor who Donna thought she'd lost! It was him in every detail, from the face to the expressions and the crazy hair style.

"Oh yes!" Jeered the reborn Time Lord, in such a glorious tone that surprised his successor.

"You're naked." Donna pointed out, quite embarrassed as she twitched her eyeballs to the side. The current Doctor made a faint groan as he covered his eyes at the sight of his former self's naked appearance.

"Oh yes." Noticed the old Doctor, rubbing his side-burns a little. But before the conservation could continue, another explosion from the roundels alerted everyone to present danger, and so both the Doctors jumped into action!

"The exterior's cooking!" Exclaimed the previous Doctor, leaning towards one of the remaining panel segments of the console, annoyed to no longer find the familiar crank or throttle he was used to operating. "We've got to act quickly, or she'll blow apart with us inside!"

"I know! I'm working on it, but the power's been drained!" Snapped the new Doctor, frustrated as even the manual controls failed to respond to the button inputs.

"Oh that's just perfect!" Muttered the other Doctor. "We'll have to activate emergency power somehow!"

"Well do something quick, I'm literally boiling like a sausage here!" Barked Donna, shielding herself from the flames of the Z-Neutrino energy.

"Ah, of course! There it is!" Cheered one of the Doctors, yanking out a special throttle before picking up the maintenance hammer and wacking at his panel on the console.

"Well done! Allons-y!" Chuckled the spiky-haired Doctor as he touched two differently coloured wires together from amongst a wreckage of circuit-boards. And with that, the Time Rotor spluttered and groaned into life! Despite the more tired and damaged sounding wheeze of a noise, the TARDIS began to cool as it slowly but surely dematerialised. "Safe at last!" Donna smiled in pure happiness.

"The dematerialisation circuit's old but it still works. Hah!" Grinned the old Doctor.

"Hah!" The dressed Doctor repeated in the same manner as his predecessor, only stumbling a little in his white trainers as he stood up completely.

Though Donna was glad that the danger had passed, she was still concerned about her Doctor's clothes-less state. "Hey time-boy! Are you gonna fight Daleks naked or actually wear something?!"

"Good point!" Muttered the naked Time Lord as he leaped up and rushed towards a panel in floor where he opened up a secret hatch. "Time to visit the Wardrobe Room again!"

"You do that!" Acknowledged the more youthful Doctor. "I'll check the coordinates." Taking off his brown jacket, the Time Lord continued to work at the controls quickly, trying to make sure there wasn't a chance of them crashing anywhere.

"Ah there we go! We're in deep space, and we're perfectly hidden too. I've put us into camouflage mode. Life's but a walking shadow!" The Doctor quipped, quoting a line from Shakespeare's Macbeth. The Tardis had returned a low-light and rather moody state, in order to conceal it as much as possible from the range of the Crucible and the rest of the Dalek Fleet's scanners.

"Now, shh! Not a sound. You hear that Miss Jovanka? Nothing….Shhh! That's it Tegan." Remarked the Doctor, taking charge as usual, before his predecessor returned from the hatch.

"Aha! I like blue. What d'you think?" The Tenth Doctor sparked with a slight whisper.

Boggling at the pair of them, Donna shook her head. "You. Are. Bonkers."

"Why, what's wrong with blue?" Asked the Doctor, disappointed at her reply. "Well, I would've worn brown if he hadn't ruined it!"

"Oi! You weren't surrounded by collapsing pillars and dust with explosions after regeneration. And to be fair, I do like this Jacket!" Snapped the new Doctor, brushing his tie around.

Donna ignored this, and spouted; "Is that what you Time Lords do? Lop a bit off, grow another one? You're like worms!"

Puzzled and offended, the two Doctors shifted their heads in disgust at Donna. "Woah woah! That's a bit harsh, isn't it? Ohh….Worms, I don't like the sound of that." The blue-suited Doctor murmured.

"We never do." Agreed his successor. "Although, yeah….It doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Uh-huh. A few moments ago, I was regenerating…..I was just about to change and suddenly…I was on the floor, and naked!" The Tenth Doctor examined the situation in his slow talk.

"Don't remind me." Sighed the scruffy-haired Doctor.

"But yes. I regenerated. Still, I shouldn't be here. If all I can remember is everything up to my regeneration, I can't be from the future….No way…..I'm definitely present. And you're the new boy, right?" Continued the old Doctor.

"Right. And to be precise, what you did was pour some of your regeneration energy into our handy spare hand, y'know, as a receptacle! But Donna and I saw you created _from_ the hand! I touched it!" The raggedy Doctor gasped, beginning to reach a possible conclusion.

"No wait, the hand?" Perked up the slightly older looking Time Lord, scanning his large eyes on the metal floor. All he could see was shattered fragments of the jar, lying by themselves. And there was no sign of the hand itself, until he lifted up his right hand and with amazement realised it was the very same hand from the jar! "Ohhh…..No way!"

As both Doctors' eyebrows raised high at the realisation of what had happened, they dramatically stared at each other. The Tenth Doctor slapped his head. The Eleventh Doctor waved his hands a little.

"So that means….What you saw was…" Breathed the blue-suited Doctor.

Then with the great enthusiasm; "Wham! Instantaneous biological meta-crisis!" Their voices echoed a little simultaneously, which greatly amused Donna.

"So that means….You're a brand new Time Lord, created through me! Well, my old genes with my new ones, so you're not a new new Time Lord." The raggedy Doctor examined.

"Well of course not, I'm the Doctor!" Stated the old Doctor obviously.

"So am I!" His successor solidified.

Then, unexpectedly, the TARDIS shuddered as if something had hit it. A warning signal sounded from the viewscreen, as smoke immediately creeped in from floors below, as the Cloister Bell rung again and again to warn the ship's passengers. Its magnificent and hypnotic sound rivalled any bell on Earth or even in any known galaxy, as far the Doctor was concerned.

"The Tardis Cloister Bell. That means imminent disaster. Man the battle stations!" Roared the raggedy Doctor, suddenly grabbing his brown jacket and putting it back on. He pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver and scanned the console for any information that could help.

"Man the-what?! What's happening Doctor?" Questioned a now worried Donna, standing close to her Doctor, who also fiddled at the controls though was lacking a Sonic Screwdriver of his own.

"Hush! The coordinates are changing and the TARDIS databanks aren't working! But we haven't been detected, I don't understand!" Frowned the Time Lord.

"Let me try!" Whizzed the blue-suited Doctor, rushing to his successor's side and tapping at the cracked viewscreen. But what he found was certainly not good news. "Oh dear. The Eye of Harmony's been damaged, we're losing power quick!"

But as the two Doctors did their best to stabilise the flight path and keep the TARDIS floating where it was, a sudden explosion from below the Console Room proved to them that there was nothing they could do; the type 40 Time Capsule was out of control!

"Both the automatic and manual controls are dead! Brace yourselves; we're gonna crash for real this time!" Cried the raggedy Doctor, grabbing onto one of the bars at the edge of the console platform, as did his predecessor.

Donna didn't get too much time to react; the TARDIS rocked backwards, and instantaneously it was spiralling down and down through the Medusa Cascade! Together the TARDIS Crew screamed, as they waited for an inevitable crash on one of the 27 Planets.

Furiously, the Doctor with the screwdriver fiddled with the device, hoping that he could somehow correct the course, but the handbrake lever did nothing. There was no doubt they'd crash!

With a thunderous impact, the Gallifreyian time machine exploded its way onto the surface of one of the planets, lying on its side as the passengers were thrown down into the swimming pool, much to Donna's dismay.

"A swimming pool! You have a swimming pool right below your control room? Did you ever think it would flood if we crashed like now?!" She barked, before having to swim herself out of the water as books from the TARDIS' library began to float in.

"Don't blame me, blame the TARDIS, it arranges the rooms!" Scoffed the current Doctor.

"I don't think anyone's really used it for a long time. I've only ever come down to the Library once or twice!" Remarked the spiky-haired Doctor.

Donna intended to reply, but she couldn't figure out what exactly to call either of them, considering that they were both technically the same person just different. So she remained quiet.

"You two really are mad, aren't you?" Sighed the Chiswick Temp, helping them out of the pool. "Now where are we?"

"I don't know…" Groaned the Doctor, clutching his chest a little as if he'd felt a bit of pain. Check the temperature reading Jo…..Standard procedures…."

"Doctor? My name's not Jo, it's Donna." Remarked Donna.

"Oh. Terribly sorry Tegan." Replied the Doctor, sounding like someone else. "N-n-n-no wait. Victoria? Zoe? Peri? Susan? Mels? Polly? Oh no. No no no…My head!" The Time Lord put both of his hands to his head as if he was suffering from a mental attack.

"D-doctor! Speak to us! What's wrong?" Donna sympathetically asked, putting her arm on his shoulder.

The previous Doctor realised the problem; "It's his regeneration again. Without the stimulus from the heat, his brain can't focus. We have to get outside, quick! I just hope we're on a friendly planet."

Nearby however, in the midst of a night-like sky's murky darkness, a car was zooming across the deserted streets of London. Then all of a sudden, the driver slammed the breaks in shock, as she found herself face to face with a patrol of Daleks! It was Sarah Jane Smith, the Doctor's old companion, who had just gone out searching for her Time Lord best friend. But she was frightened already to have gotten herself into this deadly situation!

"ALL HUMAN TRANSPORT IS FORBIDDEN." Droned the leader of the patrol, its flashing lights lighting up in a demonic fashion.

"I surrender. I'm sorry!" Protested Sarah loudly, putting her hands up in utter fear.

"DALEKS DO NOT ACCEPT APOLOGIES. YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED." Retorted the squad leader, lifting up its laser cannon, to which the other Dalek followed suite. "EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE!"

Horrified, Sarah covered her face as she watched the monstrous cyborgs aim at the car's front window…

Then out of nowhere, a spell-binding crack of white light imploded from behind the car, as two figures emerged like angels and held up enormous guns, firing instantly at Daleks, who exploded with yet another bloodcurdling electronical scream before the top of their mechanical shells erupted into mere flames, causing their cannons and sucker arms to drop down.

Staggered and sighing with relief, Sarah quickly exited the car to find Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler standing before her, armed with enormous guns and looking very serious indeed.

"...Mickey?" Cried Sarah.

"Us Smiths gotta stick together!" Quipped Rose's old boyfriend, lowering his gun.

Meanwhile, in the TARDIS, the two Doctors and Donna had finally reached the Console Room, which was unfortunately not upright, forcing the crew to climb up towards the Console. The new Doctor was still suffering from his post-regeneration trauma, and was failing to keep his footing on the floor as time and time again he nearly collapsed. Climbing up a little, Donna found the Doctor's old brown coat and tossed it down to the two Time Lords, one of which gave it to the other to keep him warm. "Look after this coat, will ya? I love it y'know."

"Yeah, I remember…." Muttered his successor with a slight sound of pain in his voice.

"Donna? There should be a grappling hook somewhere under one of the panels. Can you reach it?" Requested the spiky-haired Doctor, holding tight onto his pained successor.

"Hold on….." She called back, opening a panel. "I think I got it!"

"Yes, that's it! Give it here!" Confirmed the Doctor, holding out his hands. As Donna passed the grappling hook to the two Doctors, the new Doctor aroused slightly, and said; "Can I try?"

Reluctantly, the meta-crisis Doctor, with a roll of his eyes, gave the raggedy Time Lord the grappling hook.

Back outside, Sarah, Mickey and Jackie had snuck around the streets and come across another Dalek patrol, and had discovered much to their joy, the TARDIS was before them! However, the Daleks seemed to have other plans for it.

"TARDIS HAS BEEN LOCATED! REPORT TO THE SUPREME DALEK!" One of them barked.

"OPENING COMMUNICATIONS LINE WITH CRUCIBLE…" Droned another.

But before anything else could happen, Mickey and Jackie came out of their hiding places and blasted the Daleks to bits! Yet again the electronic scream gave Sarah a slight fright, as some of the Kaled mutant within showed its ugly features, all tentacles coming from rotten flesh of one horrific and soulless looking eye.

"The TARDIS…..Doctor? Doctor! Are you there? Doctor!" Sarah called out.

And then, as if her calling out had been heard; the TARDIS doors burst open outwards with a great slam, bringing a whole heap of smoke with it in the process.

Sarah and the others jumped backwards as suddenly a grappling hook was thrown straight out of the interior and hooked itself onto a damaged car, as somebody tightly on it, before gripping their hands one by one on the edge of the police box doorway. And so dramatically, the Eleventh Doctor victoriously revealed his face with a cheekily joyful grin with a hint of exhaustion. He'd yet again removed his enormous coat for the climb, though as soon as he climbed out, somebody still in the Tardis tossed it back to up to him, before he proudly greeted his old friends.

"Sarah! Oooh….Mickey and Jackie, hello! Now this is a surprise!" He said with a very childish expression.

Staring back into the TARDIS, he gaped at the immense depth of how far down he'd been.

"Woah…..Just had a fall. All the way down there, right to the library. Hell of a climb back up." He explained.

"But you're wet." Jackie pointed out, quite confused.

"I was in the swimming pool. Oh, and so was the library." The Doctor finished his explanation.

"Doctor? Doctor! We're coming up; give us a hand in here!" A voice reached out from the TARDIS.

"Ah Donna! Don't worry, I'm coming." The Time Lord answered, rushing back to the edge of the Police Box, tugging onto the rope of the grappling hook.

"It's alright Donna, that's it! Just a bit more. You too, blue suit, up you come! Good news, we're back on Earth!" The Doctor looked down at his friend and meta-crisis duplicate coming up.

"Wait, did your friend just call you…..Doctor?!" Asked Sarah, slowly approaching the Time Lord. She recognised the clothes but the man was completely different. It was her Doctor, but now as a new man. Though this wasn't the first time she'd experienced this, the surprise was still there.

"You've regenerated again?" Exclaimed Sarah Jane.

"Yet again Sarah Jane, yet again." The Time Lord gave a warm smile, reminding her of his predecessors, which only through close examination could she somehow through her heart see remnants of still in those expressions. It was like the Time Lord truly never fell.

"Earth you said? Oh thank goodness! But how are we gonna help Rose and Jack? They're still stuck up there!" Asked Donna, poking her head out of the doors.

"I don't know yet Donna, but since the TARDIS is out of power it looks like we'll be stuck here for a while!" Sighed the Time Lord. "Oh wait, you haven't met Sarah yet! Donna Noble, meet Sarah Jane Smith."

As the two girls greeted each other with a good deal of respect as soon as Donna mentioned she'd heard a few things about her before they'd even seen each other on the TARDIS viewscreen sometime earlier, the Doctor next helped his tenth incarnation double up and out the TARDIS, who spoke; "Sarah! Fancy seeing you here!"

But Sarah, Mickey and Jackie backed away, surprised to see two Doctors of different incarnations standing right next to each other!

"B-but that's impossible, how can there be two Doctors at the same time?!" Sarah stuttered a little.

"Biological metacrisis." The meta-crisis Doctor revealed.

"Oh never mind, it's a long story anyway. Not even Donna's too sure about it." Sighed the raggedy Doctor.

"Well we'd better do something about the TARDIS quick, before another Dalek Patrol turns up!" Interrupted Mickey, holding tight onto his gun.

"Good idea Adric. I'll j-j-just-A-A-AGH!" Flinched the Time Lord, yet again collapsing to his knees. No, I'm fine. It's okay. This is all perfectly normal…Just need some adrenaline again…..My regeneration's only 72% stable. I'll have t-Uhhh…."

Immediately, his counterpart and companion rushed to his assistance, getting him on his feet somewhat as he panted. "It's happening again. Sarah, Jackie. It's like what happened to me before, you know the drill!"

"Well that's just perfect. Now we've got another problem on our hands! We barely survived an attack from those Sycorax things the last time the Doctor did this. Well I'm not going to leave anyway till I have Rose. We've got to get up there somehow!" Exclaimed Jackie.

Sarah Jane didn't quite hear this, as she was lost in thought; remembering when the Doctor she first met, the Third Doctor, regenerated into the Fourth Doctor, who was rather clownish and a little childish initially.

"No! No, Doctor, wait! Doctor, listen. Please, it's Sarah!" She had called to the TARDIS as the Fourth Doctor attempted to de-materialise and escape from U.N.I.T HQ, still suffering from the mental effects of Post-Regeneration sickness.

"Doctor!"

Then the TARDIS had stopped as the Fourth Doctor opened the doors to see what his predecessor's companion had to say.

"Hello. Come to see me off, have you? Well, I hate goodbyes. I'll just slip away quietly." He had spoken softly.

"No, no, Doctor. You can't go." Sarah had insisted.

"Can't? Can't?" The Doctor had growled, somewhat offended. "There's no such word as can't." And slammed the doors shut.

It had taken a bit of convincing until eventually the Fourth Doctor had agreed to not leave and help U.N.I.T in his first adventure of that incarnation, all those years ago.

"Sarah? You alright?" The meta-crisis Doctor walked up to her.

"Huh? Oh! Yes, sorry. I just hope he-I-I mean I hope your other self won't suffer for too long. I'm just worried about my Son. I mean…If we can't get up to the Dalek Spaceship in time…." She sniffed a little with slight tears.

"Sarah, we'll make it through. We always do." Smiled the previous Doctor, who then rushed to the others to explain a quick plan; "Right then! So. My new incarnation here needs a bit more time to recover, and we've got a whole universe to save from Daleks. So somehow, we need to repair the TARDIS and get its power back. But we've gotta get it somewhere safe first, so Jackie and Mickey, find us a lorry or something that we can use so we can transport it to a safe part of London. Chop-chop!"


	4. Dalektropolis

_**Regeneration of Fate - Chapter 4: Dalektropolis - Journey's End Part 3**_

Eventually, the Eleventh Doctor sat down by a car, watching as his previous incarnation and companions lifted the TARDIS upright once Jackie and Mickey returned with a very large lorry. Afterwards, the Type 40 Capsule was placed in the cargo hold.

"Good, good! We should be ready to go now." The meta-crisis Doctor examined their situation, now putting on the brown coat for himself.

"And about time too. I think I can hear a Dalek patrol coming!" Cried Mickey, pointing to a group of demonic looking bronze figures in the distance.

"Get the Doctor! He'll be safe in the TARDIS." Suggested Sarah to Donna, before they both dashed to the damaged car where the exhausted Doctor was resting, towards the Police Box doors.

As soon as the Doctor was shut inside the TARDIS, Donna and Sarah quickly jumped in the back seats before Jackie switched on the engine, which roared with an immense thrust before the lorry drove off at a speed of 45mph, through the deserted streets of London.

"Look out!" Cried Sarah; Daleks were on the street!

Instantly, Jackie swerved the lorry in the other direction down to a different road as the Daleks shouted; "INTRUDERS IN SECTOR 3494! ELEVATE!"

"They're coming after us, hurry!" Yelled the Meta-Crisis Doctor, his spiky hair blowing like crazy as the lorry increased its speed.

With the great fury of destruction they were known for, the Daleks fired non-stop at the lorry, almost managing to hit it plenty of times as they hovered in the air above it.

"Mickey!" Called out the blue-suited Doctor, pointing out the window at the Daleks. "Think you dispose of them?"

"With pleasure." Grinned Mickey, kissing his giant gun as he aimed very carefully at the Daleks swerving about above the vehicle, not noticing him as they were too busy shooting at the roof!

He aimed straight at the head of one of them, and then immediately upon pressing the trigger a bright, fiery rocket of laser energy erupted from the weapon, piercing the inner workings of the Dalek as it spiralled out of control before exploding right next to its comrade, which nearly lost of control of its arms and eyestalk before Mickey fired again! The second Dalek crashed straight in front of the Lorry, before Jackie accidentally ran over its remains, finishing it for good.

"Well done Mickey, bravo!" Cheered the previous Doctor, giving him a quick hug as Jackie drove the lorry out of the district, on the way to Westminster.

And after about half an hour, they finally arrived. Once they opened up the cargo compartment, they discovered that the Doctor had already come out, mumbling; "Ah! Donna, there you are. Way too hot in there. The engines have overheated, and even if they do manage to cool down quick enough, I'm afraid that the TARDIS is going nowhere with enough power!

"Well that's just great!" Groaned Donna. "But don't you need to rest more?"

"No no. Don't you see? The heat, the adrenaline of the situation. I think my brain's recovering! No more neural implosions, I'm back!" He cried, suddenly excited again. It seemed to everyone else that this Doctor, despite claiming to be fine, was all over the place in terms of his attitude. "Where are we anyway? On Earth, I mean."

"We're in Westminster, Doctor. There doesn't seem to be too many Daleks here, thankfully." Sarah answered, helping the Doctor out of the cargo compartment.

"Why though? Why leave now? Unless….." Pondered the Doctor out loud.

"Unless what?" Donna asked.

"Unless they're going back to their ship. But that means the next phase of their plan is coming underway soon! That's it. We've got to act, and fast. But we still don't know how to power up the TARDIS!" He sighed frustratingly. "Come on, think think!"

"Doctor, wait. How much power would we need?" Donna asked, curious that she might have a potential answer.

"Loads and loads Donna. Enough to generate the necessary arton energy the TARDIS normally uses. But this is Earth, there's no power of that scale for a mile! If only we landed on any other planet, then we-" Grumped the Eleventh Doctor, before Donna suddenly interrupted him.

"What about the Dalek Spaceships?" Donna suggested.

"What?" The Doctor span around immediately to face her, as she smiled proudly at her suggestion.

"Doctor! She's right! If there's enough power in a Dalek ship, we can power up the TARDIS with the ship's fuel!" Sarah sparked up, realising what Donna meant.

The Doctor's frustrated look then formed into a big grin; "Donna, did I ever tell you that you're brilliant? That's it! The Daleks have been able to travel across time before, so maybe one little ship might give the TARDIS just enough power to get us to Crucible and back. Brilliant!"

"Let's go!" He roared with excitement, suddenly taking off back into the Lorry as he shouted to Jackie; "JACKIE! Get us to Westminster Bridge!"

Donna couldn't help but laugh; even if this Doctor was a little childish and mad, he still retained his great appreciation and comradery with her that his predecessor did, so perhaps he wasn't that bad after all!

And upon arriving at Westminster Bridge, the new Doctor hopped out with great enthusiasm as he pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver, quickly fiddling with the settings a little.

"What're you doing now?" Asked Donna, panting a little as she tried to keep up with the new Doctor's high athletic speed. The meta-crisis Doctor followed behind her, also staggered at how much energy his successor had; "Blimey..."

Suddenly, the new Doctor paused and whispered; "Wait. Listen!"

A distant yet familiar wheezing sound echoed a little across the sky, coupled with the noise of many flames crackling. It sounded like a sick, choking machine burning from the inside as it got closer and closer to where they were standing; it was the TARDIS!

"The TARDIS…..But that's impossible, it's right here!" Breathed Donna.

Without warning, the Doctor cried; "Look, up there!" He was pointing to an awfully familiar sight of a man wearing a blue shirt and white trainers, with a tie blowing in the wind as he held onto the edge of the Time Machine, before it almost collided with the Elizabeth Tower as Big Ben sounded at the dawn of the new hour.

"But that….That was you Doctor! You were hanging from the TARDIS a while ago!" Donna gasped.

"But that means…..So that's why the TARDIS got drained of so much power. We've gone back several minutes in this one pocket of time! The damage must've caused a malfunction when we escaped from the Core. And since the TARDIS already had trouble getting here in the first place, that one trip just now exhausted its power. Still though, that means we've got more time!" Realised the Doctor, turning to his friends.

"So we've got a chance to save Rose and Jack!" The meta-crisis Doctor finished his successor's comment.

"Exactly!" The current Doctor snapped his fingers, as he walked across the bridge. "And if I'm correct, there should be Dalek Spaceships chasing us."

Suddenly, just as the Doctor predicted, a few Dalek spaceships came hovering right above their heads, causing immense vibrations that almost made their ears hurt! Lasers came sprouting from tiny little cannons in its sides, presumably being aimed at the out of control TARDIS. Very quickly though, it left in a hurry to chase after the burning blue box.

"Now if only we could get one of those down…" Muttered the scruffy-haired Time Lord, scanning the ship with his screwdriver.

Offering some advice, the meta-crisis Doctor commented; "I don't think we can disable one while it's in the air. My suggestion would be to get the Daleks out, before we even try to steal some power. Which! Leaves the rest of the plan up to you, Doctor. You're the new boy after all; show us what you can do."

Confused at his predecessor's advice, the new Doctor confronted him; "Why're you doing this?"

"Why not? I'm giving you a chance." The blue-suited Time Lord explained. "Cos if there's one thing I'm certain about, it's you who's going to save the universe. Not me. My song has ended, just as the Ood predicted. But the Doctor and Donna? They'll go on, saving planets and civilisations, travelling to sights most people in the universe can only ever dream of seeing. I wish I could go on and be in your place, but I can't. I didn't want it to end, but I know it must. Maybe that's why the meta-crisis happened, so that I can know my future is in safe hands."

Stunned, the scruffy-haired Doctor stared into his predecessor's wide eyes, drawn by his unexpected generosity. "Now go and save the universe, Doctor."

With a big audacious grin, the freshly optimistic Eleventh Doctor span back to his companions to discuss a potential plan; "Yes, thank you…Doctor. That is a good point. I believe our best course of action would be to track down a Dalek ship in London that's already landed. But since we don't have the technology ourselves…"

The Time Lord briefly glanced at his meta-crisis counterpart, who nodded with approval.

"So we'll have to find anyone who does. Any ideas?" The Doctor continued, hoping to get everyone working as an organised team to get the job done.

"Oh, I know; Mr. Smith! I can get Luke to ask him to perform a scan across London." Suggested Sarah, causing the new Doctor to beam with delight.

"Oh good thinking Sarah!" He smiled at his old companion as she dialled up Luke's number on her Mobile.

At that very moment in Bannerman Road, Luke instantly sprung up once he heard his mobile ringing. It meant his mother was still alive!

Relieved, he answered the phone with; "Mum! Is that you? Are you all right? Did you find the Doctor?"

Also glad to hear that her adopted alien son was still alive, Sarah responded promptly; "Yes, I'm alright. He's here! But listen, I need you to ask Mr Smith to do something very important. Get him to scan all across London and tell us where the nearest Dalek spaceship to Westminster Bridge is, okay?"

"Don't worry Mum, I'm on it!" Luke nodded. So moments later, the giant alien computer that was Mr. Smith rigorously projected its scan while showing an isolated map of the city on his screen for Luke to see.

Eventually, Mr Smith had finally discovered one in the perfect spot. " _According to my results Luke, the one closest to Sarah Jane's location is in Hyde Park. Unfortunately, there are two Dalek spacecraft present in the area. Whatever the Doctor has planned, I would highly advise caution. Though I suspect most of the Daleks have left both ships to round up more humans, there are likely at least a dozen or so still on each ship._ "

Holding out the phone so that Sarah could hear what Mr Smith was saying, Luke asked; "Did you get that all Mum?"

"Yes Luke, thank you." Replied Sarah, before she relayed the information back to the Doctor. "There's two in Hyde Park, so we'll have to be very careful. I'm sure you'll come up with a great solution for that Doctor."

"Okay, good! Good. So a new dilemma; how to draw out the Daleks from their ships. Y'know, we're probably going to need some help with this." The Doctor wondered aloud. "Sarah, tell Mr Smith to keep us monitored, we might need his assistance again. Jackie, get us into Hyde Park. We don't want to be too close to centre; otherwise they'll detect the TARDIS. Any questions?"

Mickey raised his hand; "Yeah. What do you mean by us needing more help? I mean, aren't we gonna work as team?"

"Yes that's true Mickey - but! But, there's a chance that my plan might backfire if everyone who's involved isn't in on it. I'll tell you when we get there." The Time Lord spoke softly. "Off we go then, Geronimo!"

Shortly after another quick drive in the lorry, the crew soon found themselves at the Princess Diana Memorial, at the other side of the Serpentine River. Unlike any other day, the whole place seemed abandoned; bits of smoke were coming from some of the trees that populated Hyde Park, pieces of garbage and litter were just lying about, and apart from a couple of fires and flickering lights from other streets in London there was barely anything illuminating the area.

It was also still very difficult for all the crew including the two Doctors to get used to seeing all the 26 Planets in the Medusa Cascade above what would usually be the sky, which only helped to make the atmosphere of the mostly deserted city eerier than ever.

And though the Serenity Sculpture by the river was untouched, lying around it were the bodies of a few London citizens, and even some soldiers that were likely massacred in the initial attacks. This horrified both of the Doctors especially as the crew came out of the lorry and examined the area.

"I don't believe it." Breathed the Meta-crisis Doctor furiously. "It's like they were killed for sport by savages." He kneeled down to look at one deceased teenager whose eyes were not shut, and carefully closed his eyelids. With a depressed look, he turned to his successor, who had a very similar grim expression.

The new Doctor, a little cold in his predecessor's now slightly torn jacket, blue shirt and long tie, was staring at the serpentine river, noticing the lack of ducks and swans swimming. Either they'd been scared off by the Earth's transportation, or the Daleks attacking humans had frightened them.

This made the Doctor remember what he had being saying to Donna before he'd been interrupted by his reunion with Rose; that Sarah Jane mentioned the Daleks taking the people from their homes. And even from what he'd learned in the TARDIS from Rose didn't quite connect together as he hoped it would.

"It doesn't make sense." He muttered, attracting the attention of his counterpart.

"What doesn't?" The spiky haired Time Lord questioned.

"It's just…Remember what Sarah said on the subwave network. About the Daleks taking people from their homes. Just….Think about it. What do the Daleks need people for? Labour work?" The other Doctor pondered.

"Maybe…..Tell me, did Rose say anything after I regenerated?" The meta-crisis Doctor asked.

"Yeah. In her world, the stars were going out one by one. Like they're being removed from existence….Oh!" The scruffy haired Time Lord responded then realised what it meant.

"Wait, you said labour work. But if the Daleks have found some way of destroying the stars – then that's manipulating reality…But humans can't possibly add anything to that. Why would they? With the help of Davros, the Daleks don't need humans to make the technology they're using work." Added his counterpart, as both of them made heavy eye contact.

"Right. But I don't remember the Daleks only using humans for labour, or any other lifeform they consider inferior. Wait, of course! The Daleks conduct experiments!" The tone of the Eleventh Doctor's voice intensified.

"YES! That's it!" The other Doctor almost yelled, only just remembering to keep his voice down in case any Daleks in proximity of their location could hear them. "They're using them as guinea pigs for their own experiments…."

"Yup, and I bet you they're testing whatever technology that's begun to remove the stars from Rose's parallel world, on humans they've rounded up." The scruffy haired Time Lord solidified his theory, as he waved his hand about to point in the air. "And since we've gone back to before we were taken aboard the Crucible, I reckon there's still some people hiding here…"

Before the pair could continue their conversation however, Donna, who'd been listening in called to them; "Oi spacemen! I appreciate you're getting close to solving this whole mystery, but if you don't mind, we've got a plan to set up!"

So then the two Time Lords rushed back to their comrades, so that the new Doctor could brief them on his plan he'd been devising. "Right you lot! Listen up; if I'm correct, the Daleks might be taking some people in their ships with them. So if we're going to make this work, we'll need to free them. After that, here's what we need to do….."

Sometime afterwards, the crew were hiding behind trees, looking across the bridge that lead to the rest of Hyde Park. There weren't any Daleks on the bridge at the moment, but as they had seen after their briefing from the Doctor, some were patrolling around the grassy areas of the park quite close.

One by one, each group commandeered by one of the Doctors would give the signal to move when the coast was clear (as in no Daleks had come to the other side of the Bridge from where they were now). They would hide behind the nearest abandoned car and then repeat the process, with the other group exactly one step behind them. Being stealthy was the safest way to get into the area undetected, but even then they would need places to hide once they'd actually reached the other side.

The Meta-Crisis Doctor led the initial group, advising them to kneel lower than the windows of the cars just in case a Dalek saw them through one. Therefore if he was going to check the coast, then he'd have to do it by peeking at the side of the vehicle. This wasn't always so easy, as most of the cars weren't parked to side, so everyone had to line up in front of one.

Very soon after the first group reached their second car, the Eleventh Doctor followed suite and took his group to the first car. Luckily the sneaking around didn't take long at first, since the Daleks were still further away. So far the situation was a-okay.

Soon the previous Doctor and his group reached the final car, signalling the current Doctor to hurry. Frowning at why they seemed so worried, he then turned to Donna and Sarah. "Okay girls, now!"

Upon them reaching the penultimate car however, the Doctor nearly jumped out of his skin at something he'd seen and whisperingly warned; "Get down, Daleks!"

But while Sarah had successfully huddled behind the Doctor, Donna tripped on her foot and fell to side where she could very well be in the path of the Daleks' view if she did not move. "Doctor!" She whispered worryingly.

Just in the nick of time, the Doctor grabbed Donna by her coat and pulled her up to the side right before the Dalek suddenly twisted its head in their direction and scanned with its eyestalk for intruders. It remained silent as its glowing blue eye did all the work, zooming and enhancing the scope of its view until it was satisfied that it seen nothing of interest on the bridge, then it slowly departed.

Once both Doctors had simultaneously determined that the Daleks had gone back to their ship after they heard their familiar hovering sounds, they hurriedly took their groups to the edge of the bridge and then onto another road by the river, everyone giving a sigh of relief.

"Phew…They've gone..." Donna breathed.

"Yes, and they're probably all the way up across there!" The Meta-Crisis Doctor reminded her, pointing to the long road ahead of them. "We've got a long walk ahead of us, so I hope you've been exercising!"

"Oh really? We have to go that far? Why not take one of the cars?" Suggested Mickey, not in the mood for a run that long, especially when it was urgent to get up to the Crucible as soon as they could.

"We'd be fine doing so part of the way Mickey, but after that we'll have to run. It's safer to sneak about instead of just driving near them." The other Doctor confirmed.

"Well then, we better get going, shan't we Doctor? Think you're up to it?" His counterpart questioned his successor.

"Up to it?" Remarked the Eleventh Doctor, unbuttoning his jacket and flinging it over his shoulder as he got ready to run. "You haven't seen anything yet. I may look different but I'm just as athletic as you!"

"Well we'll just have to see, won't we?" The other Time Lord grinned enthusiastically.

Within time, the crew had borrowed the biggest abandoned car they could find that allow all five of them in, and drove across the riverside road until they had reached an area near to the Norwegian War memorial. Now it was time for a quick jog to the nearest open-field!

Though they got exhausted fairly quickly, Donna, Mickey, Jackie and Sarah were amazed at how enthusiastic and full of stamina the two Time Lords were as they seemed to race each other to their destination.

After about five or so minutes, everyone had reached a group of trees to hide behind and observe the sight of two magnificently built Dalek flying saucers stationed on the grassy field, shining in their golden/bronze metallic Dalekanium structures. Unlike the ships that had been sighted during the main invasion earlier, these were much smaller variants that just about took up a sizeable portion of the field. A few Daleks were outside; escorting prisoners into the saucers so they could be taken up to whatever experiments that Davros needed them for….

"Just as I thought." Whispered the raggedy Doctor. "We'll have to create a breakout to free the prisoners and distract the Daleks. Shame we can't disguise ourselves as Robo-men."

His counterpart, also hiding with the rest of the crew behind some trees as they spied on the scene of the Dalek Saucers, quickly introduced an alternative solution; "We don't need to. Because if I'm right, the Daleks don't know that you've regenerated. If you can act like a prisoner and cause the breakout-"

"Then we might stand a chance!" Beamed the current Doctor. "Y'know, sometimes I amaze even myself."

With a quick and sly glance at the Doctor, the meta-crisis duplicate of the Time Lord's previous self then finally addressed his companions; "You ready to roll then?"

"Always!" Donna replied instantly, with Sarah giving a firm nod of approval and Mickey flexing his muscles as he grinned at the pair of Time Lords; "Me too bo-I mean bosses."

* * *

Could life get any worse than this? First 26 planets appeared in the sky and freaked the entire population of Earth out, then these tin-can aliens in enormous saucers turned up and invaded the plan within hours, and now several people were being rounded up by these "Daleks" – who appeared to have no understanding of the concept of mercy.

Why? Because anyone who tried to escape, embracing the thought of freedom as hard as they could were only met with a tornado of green light that made it feel like their internal organs were burning up, until there was only the skin and bones left inside the corpse of the poor human. Could anyone really take in such an idea of hell like what had happened today?

Worst of all, nobody knew what the Daleks would do to them. Anyone who asked were responded to with; "DALEKS DO NOT ANSWER HUMAN QUESTIONS." If anyone questioned their orders, they were greeted with; "HUMAN BEINGS WILL FOLLOW ORDERS, OR BE EXTERMINATED!" Then again, that only happened if you were lucky.

Of course, little did anyone in a crowd of prisoners heading into a Dalek saucer know; they had help on their side. The Doctor had snuck into the queue, placing both his hands on his heads just like a captured human. He just hoped that if a human could think he was one of them, then he could convince the Daleks of the same thing.

Speaking of Daleks, a couple were stationed outside the entrance to the ship, watching every prisoner as they entered in. Concerned, the Doctor tried to walk quicker in the hope that he could get in the ship quicker – but then he stopped and walked at a normal pace. It would be a mistake to rush through the queue, otherwise the Daleks could get suspicious.

Eventually, the scruffy haired Time Lord came very close to the entrance, with only about 3 people in front of him. As the first one was being checked by one of the Dalek guards, the Doctor's two hearts almost sank as the other guard unexpectedly swivelled its domed head in his direction. Now he was face-to-face with its eye stalk!

The glowing blue light coming from the eye-stalk appeared to be focused solely on the Time Lord's expressions, which alerted him to a possible reason why the Dalek had turned its attention to him. He was not showing fear like all the other humans! Normally when he faced a Dalek straight in the eye, he was either showing signs of contempt, or mocking it. For a moment it seemed as if the Time Lord had done something along those lines, but then he changed his expression to one that resembled fear of sorts. But strangely enough, the Doctor couldn't quite tell if he was actually scared. Perhaps his hatred of the Daleks was getting to him.

Thankfully, the Dalek seemed to lose interest and turned its attention to the other prisoners. Relieved, the Doctor progressed onwards, but not before the other guard stopped him; "HALT!" Now the Doctor really did feel a sense of fear.

"STAND STILL FOR SCANNING PROCEDURE." Ordered the metallic monstrosity, suddenly lifting up its sucker-like arm. It manoeuvred the arm around the Doctor's body, apparently scanning it out of suspicion. Had it caught on to his different biology somehow?

"RELAYING RESULTS OF SCAN TO DALEK MAINFRAME…." Calculated the hellish abomination of an alien. "RESULTS EXAMINED. ONE HEARTBEAT DETECTED – PROBABILITY OF PRISONER BEING HUMAN – 93.40000% LIKELY. MOVE!"

Now hopefully out of the woods, the Doctor obeyed and clambered into the Dalek saucer. It was very different to the one that he had seen being used by Daleks in a similar invasion of Earth in the 22nd century; much more spacious and clean looking. It didn't look like it had been in much of a fight – probably had landed after the initial attack on London.

A few minutes later, a Dalek on patrol in the main corridors escorted a few human prisoners including the Doctor into a cell, almost shoving them in at once before the door slid down and locked them in. Almost immediately after, the Time Lord collapsed to the floor, panting painfully as he clutched the side of his chest where one of his hearts was.

A few human prisoners rushed to his assistance, getting him to sit down against the wall until he could recover. "Are you alright? You look you've had the life drained out of you!" A young redheaded woman commented, seeing how much the scruffy-haired man was sweating.

"Something like that – Ohhh…Stopping one heart…..I'm never doing that again….It could kill me!" He groaned in reply. He was lucky enough to know how to temporarily stop one of his two hearts, which prevented the Dalek from detecting two pulses. Though the fact that it had actually scanned him in the first place was worrying. Hopefully his pretence as a human was not foiled.

"Stopping one wha- Oh what's the use?" A male prisoner asked with some curiosity but then lost interest immediately as he slumped against the cell wall. "These Dalek things are gonna do something terrible to us anyway."

"Oh I'm sure they will." Commented the Doctor, recovering a little. "But you mustn't give up hope – you never know, something unexpected may happen!"

The man just groaned and sighed heavily. "Yeah. We can dream." It looked as if he and quite a few of the prisoners in the cell were filled with depression and anxiety. "We're done for, the whole lot of us!"

"What makes you say that, eh? Do you really think it is all over for us?" The Doctor egged on, hoping to raise some courage amongst the prisoners. He needed a way to access the main deck of the ship!

The woman who had helped him earlier seemed confused; "Course. You must've heard what those Dalek things said. They threatened to kill us if we don't obey, and whatever they've got in store for us can't be good."

"Exactly." Growled the pessimistic prisoner. "There ain't anything we can do stop those Daleks. I mean, look at us compared to them. They could blast us to the ground before we can even think we're free…"

"So you're absolutely certain – I guess you think humans aren't indomitable after all…" The new Doctor replied, being slightly ambiguous about his own opinion.

It seemed that the Doctor's strange manner of speech had attracted attention. The female prisoner suggested; "Well, I suppose if we're all going meet our ends then we might as well get to know each other while we wait."

"A comforting idea – I like it!" Piped up the Time Lord. "You can call me the Doctor. That is, Doctor John Smith. What's about you then?"

"Amy. Amy Pond" Replied the woman, barely even showing a smile. She had a Scottish accent, coupled with a slightly aggressive tone. Interestingly, she looked more scared than depressed.

"Nice to meet you Amy. You're Scottish, right?" The scruffy haired Time Lord unexpectedly shook hands with the red-haired woman.

Amy looked somewhat baffled. "Duh, of course I am."

"Well then, Miss Pond-"

"Just call me Amy, everyone calls me that." The Scottish girl interrupted, with a very fiery tone.

"Sure. So Amy, what brings you to London?" The Doctor asked as kindly as possible.

"Well…" The red-hair pondered with a slight look of embarrassment towards the pessimistic man who was slouched in front of the wall. "That idiot does."

"Amy, stop-" The man groaned for a second, but his friend interrupted him; "Hush Rory. You know I didn't agree to come to see him so soon."

Rory seemed appalled. "We've been captured by alien dustbins – actual aliens! Aliens who probably want to kill us – and you're talking about why you're not ready to meet my Dad…"

"Oh, don't mind him John, he's just as scared as everyone else here." Amy cut in again, almost teasing her friend. The Doctor understood their situation immediately; they were a young unmarried couple who had been on their way to visit family and friends just before the Earth was transported and the Daleks invaded.

It was as if the whole world had been turned upside down on one random, normal day. Or everything had been inverted, and what was good was now bad – it was that much a shock to human beings that this event could even happen, so no wonder they were terrified out of their wits.

"But you're scared too, aren't you?" The scruffy-haired Time Lord observed, grasping his hands together as if he were an old professor. "You don't have to pretend."

Just then, every one of the prisoners stared at the Doctor, confused at his attitude. He seemed unusually calm on the exterior, maintaining an elderly confidence of sorts – Amy got the strange feeling that he had the inquiring mind of someone far beyond a human's imagination. This man was weary, curious but a little cold in his demeanour. Just who was he really?

A glint appeared in the scot's eye, as the light reflected off the metal walls. Her fiery tone had died down a bit as she noticed the strange man, young in appearance but elderly in his manner giving her the sort of expression that read; _"You can't hide that fact, it's no secret!"_

"I knew it from all of your faces the moment I came in. I saw how you reacted to those Daleks – I don't even think I have the right to describe it." Muttered the Time Lord, holding his small little chin and rubbing it. "But I will tell you this – good on you. Yes, good on you for being scared. Because you have every right to be!"

It was these words that caught the attention of Amy's friend; Rory, whose face almost lightened up. Normally one would expect the only person left resisting to inform them to let go of their fear, but instead this man was encouraging it…

"You all want to survive, don't you? Homo-sapiens, the indomitable species of Earth. You've done it for all your eternal existence, so why stop here? Just because those Daleks make you scared, and believe me, nothing scares me more than them…..That's no reason to give up." The strange man stood up, brushing his dirty tie off his arm.

"Who are you?" Rory demanded, almost wide-eyed. This surprised Amy, who had never seen her boyfriend act like this in front of anybody they talked to. But then again, she understood him somewhat. This Doctor fella was very unusual – almost un-human…

Almost proving their theory, the new Doctor, seeming very distracted, pressed his ear against the wall, listening closely. "Our 'new masters' seem to be collecting their slaves. I don't suppose you want to be slaves?"

"N-n-no…" Amy breathed, sounding very concerned. Rory and a few other prisoners nodded, while everyone else seemed too frightened to act.

"Well then – we better get to work!" The youthful looking gentleman with the rocket-fin ears piped up. "Can't use the Sonic Screwdriver, they'll probably detect its activity…So time for Plan B – organised chaos!"

"What'd you think you're doing?" Amy leaped up from the floor, looking over the shoulder of the Time Lord.

"Like I said – planning organised chaos. I can help you escape!" The Doctor smiled cheerfully, though secretly his internal manner was far from that. The thought of whatever the Daleks were doing back up in the Crucible, to Rose and Jack….And all the other humans that they were no doubt about to test on, had him in utter fury and contempt of his arch-nemesis'. But of course, he wasn't going to indicate that to these prisoners.

"If there's one thing I know about the Daleks, there's always a way to overwhelm them, and I'm gonna need help." He continued, turning away from the wall to face all of the prisoners.

"But you're mad." One prisoner at the other end of the cell spoke out, frowning at the tall new Time Lord. "Nobody can escape the Daleks, everyone's tried!"

Just then, the Doctor almost snapped, he shoved his way through the other prisoner to face the one who'd just questioned him, and whispered right into his face; "So what? You think that's going stop me?" He now raised his voice, addressing everyone in the cell. "I've got friends out there, friends who are waiting to save your lives and everyone else's, and I am NOT going to let one stinking person challenge me on that!"

The prisoner fell silent, just as Amy Pond pulled the Doctor away from him. Now the Time Lord seemed more relaxed; "Just tell me this. Are you in, or are you out?"

The old man in a young man's body stood extremely still for a few painful seconds, his eyeballs scanning around the room like a security camera, hoping to capture sight of anyone who would listen to him. He didn't want his new face to be one that nobody listened to.

Amy was the most transfixed out of all the prisoners in the cell, she stepped forwards with a look of determination on her face. Rory followed loyally, not 100% trustworthy of the Doctor, but confident enough to decide that any escape plan might be worth it.

"Thank you." The Time Lord breathed with relief; more prisoners stood up and gathered behind Amy and Rory. Now he had enough people on his side to join in with a diversion; he needed as much time as possible to reach the main control deck, where he could then figure out how to channel some energy from the saucer and then into the TARDIS.

Unfortunately, there was still one big risk he was taking; holding the lives of these people like strings. As hard as he may try, there was always the possibility that some, maybe even all, would die. This he hated doing; being manipulative was something he tried to avoid; it was both cruel and cowardly. Therefore, he had to do everything in his power to keep them alive.

"So then, intelligence boy." Amy jokingly nicknamed him. "What do we do?"


	5. A plan in motion?

_**Regeneration of Fate - Chapter 5: A plan in motion?**_

VRRR…Buzzed the sound of an automatic hatch opening up diagonally in an archway. It allowed entry into an enormous control room up at the very top of the Dalek spaceship. In essence it was almost like a chamber of lights and gadgetry, all humming and whirring in strange unnatural patterns of sound. Blue spheres that acted as operation modules linked to the central computer of the saucer were firmly poking out of rusting bronze metal, accompanied by a countdown meter – which counted in rels, the Dalek's method of calculating the passage of time.

And just as they could measure time, the Daleks had for many years experienced the trivial difficulties of travelling through time itself. Yet their time machines had become more sophisticated over the years; no matter how many times their race was nearly destroyed, the survivors nevertheless continued their advancements of Dalek technology, whatever the conditions. In the past, the Daleks could only power their time machines with an extremely rare mineral named Taranium. Because of its rarity, they had only used it when necessary for their plans – but since the Time War they had discovered that Gallifreyian Tardises used artron energy from the time vortex to travel in time.

With this energy, they now had a more readily available source of energy in their possession, which their ships could absorb the more they travelled through the vortex and absorbed it as radiation. In fact, it was even powerful enough to give them new energy, so they had become incredibly reliant on it for many things.

And it was this energy that the new Doctor somehow hoped to steal from the saucer and transfer it into his damaged TARDIS. The task was not an easy one, but it all relied on everything he'd asked the prisoners and his companions outside the saucer to do, and everything he remembered about the Daleks up to this point.

Through the archway that was now opened, a lone Dalek scout glided on the magnetic floor into the control room. The panels in the middle of its casing reflected brightly off all the control walls – they were no mere decoration of course; they provided the casing with static electricity that was needed for it to manoeuvre any sort of terrain.

The scout paused before another Dalek, which had a black domed head, representing its rank as both a lackey of the Supreme Dalek and the captain of the Dalek spaceship. It was busy working at the controls, monitoring the activity of the ship, before in one smooth motion, it spun 180 degrees to face the scout.

"REPORT!" Ordered the Black Dalek, its voice almost crackling in its monotone volume somewhat.

EVERY HUMAN BEING PRISONER LOCATED IN THE SECTOR HAS BEEN LOCKED AWAY." The scout reported, not moving an inch as it addressed its superior.

"EXCELLENT! WE WILL AWAIT ORDERS FROM THE CRUCIBLE – THE SUPREME DALEK SHALL NEED US TO RETURN FOR THE FINAL TESTING." Droned on the hellish automaton, its gloomy casing almost boiling from all the heat in the control room. But that did not seem to affect the Kaled mutant within.

Then, another Dalek scout moved away from the controls, and gave its own report to the Black Dalek. "ALL THE PRISONERS' DATA HAS BEEN STORED AND COLLECTED."

Reacting immediately, the commanding automaton swivelled its domed head to the side, its eyestalk now pointing directly at the other scout. "YOU WILL SELECT THE STRONGEST HUMAN PRISONERS FROM THEIR DATA. THEY ARE TO BE THE FIRST ONES TESTED."

"I OBEY." The second scout answered, turning back to the controls as the Black Dalek gave one final order to the first scout.

"ONCE THE STRONGEST PRISONERS HAVE BEEN SELECTED, YOU WILL JOIN THE OTHER SCOUTS AND TAKE THOSE PRISONERS TO THE CENTRAL DECK."

The scout replied without question, its loyalty the same as any pure Dalek. "I OBEY!"

Cold air was now filling Hyde Park as Jackie, Sarah Jane, Mickey and Donna all hid outside the enormous spaceship will tense thoughts. The Meta-Crisis Doctor had gone scouting, checking that the coast was clear for them to move onto the next phase of their plan.

"Do you hear that?" Mickey suddenly sprouted, keeping a good grip on his large gun. He didn't want any Daleks ambushing them!

"What? I can't hear anything." Jackie frowned, not reaching for her gun but still at full alert as she took in her surroundings.

"Nor can I." Sarah Jane muttered – but she knew what Mickey was on about. "It's gone quiet again."

Mickey nodded. He peered out from the trees to see what was going on, aiming his blaster in case he saw something nasty. "Exactly. It's like….The Daleks have gone. They must've captured all the people that they needed."

"I just hope the old Doct-I mean the meta-whatever Doctor makes it back. We haven't seen for at least 10 minutes…" Jackie mumbled.

The only one who didn't seem to be focusing was Donna. She was sat against a tree, looking as if she were lost in thought. It was similar to when she had heard the heartbeats of the meta-crisis Doctor coming from the spare hand in the TARDIS, yet now her transfixed manner was focused more on something she could from within. But what was it?

"Donna? You alright? Donna!" A familiar voice suddenly grew louder in her mind; the Chiswick temp snapped out of her state and turned to face the Meta-Crisis Doctor, who'd just returned from his scout of the area.

"Huh? Oh, yes. Sorry – don't know what I was thinking there." Donna spoke quickly. She didn't want to make anyone too worried – she felt fine, or at least she mostly did.

"You've felt like that before, haven't you?" The spiky-haired Time Lord/Human hybrid whispered in front of her face.

Donna sighed; she had to admit she was feeling strange. "Yeah."

The meta-crisis duplicate almost smiled, then showed her the right hand that he had come from; "My other self told me about what happened, before I was created. I just want to know – did you touch my hand before he did?"

Before Donna could answer, Jackie intervened; "Doctor! Is the coast clear?"

"Right! Yes." The tall man in the blue pin-striped suit stood up. "The Daleks are in their spaceship. I expect anytime soon, they're about to leave, so that means we've gotta be quick."

At that very moment, Mickey stood up, priming his enormous blaster as he prepared for the next phase of their plan. "Gotcha boss."

"Wizard!" Smiled the previous Doctor, beginning his usual explanation spoken at an incredibly quick pace. "Quick recap – I'll head back to the lorry, while you get to the Saucer and wait for my other self to cause a distraction. Then Jackie, Mickey, you'll attack the Daleks outside to buy the new boy some time to reach the control room. Donna, you'll join him when he's ready, but remember to phone me. I need to know when I have to bring the TARDIS to the landing site, because it needs to be as close as possible to absorb the artron energy. Got it?"

His three companions looked at each other, and then nodded quickly. It was a pretty hectic plan, but it was all they had. Without the TARDIS powered up, they stood no chance of reaching the Crucible – to rescue Rose and Jack as well as find out what the Daleks and Davros' plans were AND THEN figure out a way to stop them. Some things never changed it seems.

"Excellent. Allons-y!" Roared the meta-crisis Doctor with delight, racing off into the distance as Donna, Mickey, Sarah and Jackie all ran to catch up with him.

Around the same time, the scruffy-haired Doctor was hard at work, rewiring and adjusting the circuitry of a mobile phone, which he'd requested from one of the prisoners. "Just a little bit more polarity here…"

"So that's it?" Amy Pond asked curiously. "That's what you're going to use against the Daleks? That's your secret weapon?"

"Who said anything about a secret weapon?" Piped up the Doctor, sounding a little confused. "No, I'm not going to destroy a Dalek with this; I'm just going to confuse the positronic circuits connected to its brain. Or maybe stall some of the static electricity powering its movements. Either of those will give us time."

"Okay, so what then Doctor?" Questioned Rory Williams, the boyfriend of Amy Pond.

The scruffy-haired Time Lord peered at the young man and every other prisoner over his shoulder. Solemnly, he said; "Then…When I tell you run, run like a rabbit!"

Three minutes later, the lone Dalek scout emerged from a hatchway in the prison floor, manoeuvring about the metallic floor until it reached the furthest cell. With its sucker arm, it grasped hold of the wall panel control and opened the cell up.

Immediately, it barked its orders at the frightened human prisoners inside; "HUMAN PRISONERS WILL STAND AND FOLLOW MY DIRECTION."

Back in the Doctor's cell, the Time Lord was making the final touches to his Dalek scrambling device. "There's only a 50/50 chance that this thing will have any affect." He mumbled worriedly, tying several wires together as he connected them to several other mobile phones he'd borrowed from fellow prisoners."

"But if it does work, how we will know?" Rory Williams asked inquisitively.

"Well, it's best that I activate it before the Dalek comes inside – we don't want it to notice that we've been up to something. Also….It may take a while to power up…So fingers crossed everybody!" The scruffy-haired Time Lord replied gloomily, as he finally completed the device.

As time ticked by, more and prisoners were taken out of their cells by the Dalek scout, which finally approached the cell where unbeknownst to it, its mortal enemy was lying in wait – with a plan!

In an almost panicky state, the newly regenerated Doctor pushed back through the line of prisoners, trying not to accidentally break all the wires of his handiwork. Breathing hard, he felt the familiar vibration of static electricity buzzing in the direction of the door, indicating the Dalek's close proximity. Uncertain and concerned, he switched on the machine a mere split second before the hatchway door slid open diagonally to reveal the lifeless looking bronze scout channelling its terrifyingly brutal sight into the humans before it.

"STAND!" Bellowed the bronze monstrosity. "YOU WILL MOVE AHEAD OF ME WITH THE OTHER PRISONERS, AND FOLLOW MY DIRECTION."

However, not one of the prisoners moved. They were still frozen in fear!

"Do as it says!" Whispered the Doctor. "Come on! Don't make it suspicious!"

"I SAID STAND!" The oppressing alien's electronic voice crackled in what could be mistaken for a grouchy tone. "YOU WILL OBEY!"

Feeling tense, the Doctor looked from his contraption to the Dalek, as he wondered whether to tap on the prisoners' shoulders in order to make them move forwards. But doing that would attract the scout's attention towards him!

Instead, the Doctor silently twitched his eyes at Amy Pond, prompting her to stand up bravely and be face to face with the Dalek. Loyally, Rory Williams did the same. Unfortunately, most other prisoners had not moved an inch.

"YOU WILL OBEY THE DALEKS. OR YOU SHALL BE EXTERMINATED!" The scout's voice almost echoed, as its movements increased in aggressiveness.

Suddenly, there was a flash from the Doctor's contraption – whirrs, buzzes and telephone dialling noises looped and crackled as the wires seemed to glow fluorescently, until sparks came from the circuit boards of two connected mobile phones and then…

"AH-AH-ARGHHHH!" Screeched the abomination of a part mutant part machine alien. It's eyestalk jolted up and down every second while its dome span back and forth. The sucker arm and the blaster reacted similarly, unable to keep still before the creature physically manoeuvred backwards.

Slam! The Dalek crashed against the closed hatchway door, spinning in circle before any detectable sound coming from it screeched to a halt, as did its own movements. The Dalek was incapacitated!

Cautiously however, the Doctor tiptoed out of the cell. He still carried the messy contraption that he'd used against the Dalek, but upon touching the monstrosity's protective casing it was confirmed that it was safe. For the time being at least.

"He's done it. You've stopped a Dalek!" One of the prisoners from a different cell called gleefully.

The Doctor, however, was not yet calm. "Yes, well. Now comes the difficult bit!"

Rushing up to the control panel, he worked rigorously at the sphere-shaped button that the Dalek would use to open the door. "We've got to make sure that once we get out – this Dalek can't come with us, or call for help when it reawakens!"

"You mean this thing, Doctor?" Amy Pond, pointing to another panel on the wall connected to an alien-looking speaker.

"Yes, yes, perfect! Just scramble it or whatever, I'm a bit busy!" The Time Lord muttered, feeling very pre-occupied.

Thankfully, within moments the hatchway door opened thanks to the Doctor's re-wiring – but during the time it had taken to do that, the Dalek scout suddenly showed signs of life again; it's sucker arm jerked up and down as a light began to emanate from its eyestalk!

Panicking again, the Doctor had only one quick instruction for the human prisoners; "You remember what I said in the cell? RUN!"

Like hares being chased by their prey, all of the prisoners in the corridor rocketed into motion, blazing on their little human feet as quickly as they possibly could, using their fear and strength together to muster their escape into an ascending sloped corridor and beyond.

Meanwhile, the Doctor tied the remnants of his Dalek-stopping contraption to the control panel and tore apart a live wire. Throwing the sparking wire onto the speaker panel that Amy had destroyed for him, the Time Lord rolled under the now-closing hatchway before a flaming vibration erupted violently.

Hearing the explosion, Amy Pond dashed back to the corridor outside the cell block, to find the relieved Doctor pulling himself up.

"What did you do?" She asked.

As if he were an enthusiastic child, her new friend answered; "Boom! I re-purposed the mechanism that opened the door into a detonation device. We won't have to worry about that Dalek now!"

Despite that, the Doctor's smile faded when saw the similarly cheerful look on the prisoners' faces; "It's not over yet."

The Time Lord's two new friends frowned, as did a few of the other prisoners. The mysterious alien time traveller now looked weary again, as if the responsibility of the weight he was carrying on his shoulders was getting even heavier.

"Come on girls! Hurry!" Whispered Mickey, as he dashed up towards the saucer's entrance.

With only seconds to spare, the rest of the Doctor's companions managed to get into the saucer in the nick of time, just before entry walkway folded out and closed itself.

"Thank goodness for that!" Breathed Sarah. "Let's hide, quickly. I don't want to run into any Daleks and be at their mercy."

"Neither do I…." Donna muttered, as she and Sarah together found a corner to hide in.

On the other hand, Jackie and Mickey were more than prepared to blast some Daleks down with their enormous guns; however, they had to make sure they didn't get too trigger-happy. The Doctor's plan relied on a good distraction to create organised chaos – otherwise every human being in the saucer could get exterminated…

"Hey, Jackie?" Mickey whispered.

"What is it? Something on your mind?" She answered.

Over the years she had become used to having personal conservations with Mickey, ever since she'd ended up in "Pete's World" as the Doctor had dubbed it. The fact that her daughter's old boyfriend had become a heroic and admirable freedom fighter would've seemed unbelievable back in 2005, even when the Doctor and aliens had come into her life.

Not only that, but her way of life had transformed too – together with Rose and Mickey she had become involved in daily missions for the alternate Torchwood, saving the parallel world from all the shenanigans that the Doctor normally dealt with. It was an unusual life, but one she appreciated. At least she still had daughter, and she had a husband – not the exact same one she'd married and lost all those years ago, but in essence he was the same man.

Yet being thrust into this new adventure that took her home to her dimension of origin had pre-occupied her so much. She had to go after Rose, because she felt it was her duty as a mother. Perhaps Mickey, who had slightly different concerns to her, had actually had the time to think about the future. And it seemed likely that was why he was starting a conversation before an inevitable battle that could cost them their lives…

"More like something on yours." He admitted. "I've been wondering. Ever since Rose found about the dimensions collapsing, and all that talk about her trying to find the Doctor…Have you thought of what you might do when this is all over?"

"What'd you mean? I'd just go back to normal life in the parallel world, won't I?" Jackie frowned. But soon her mood changed when she realised what Mickey was getting at.

He sighed. "I just keep thinking…What if she chooses to stay with the Doctor? I mean, I know he's changed again and all, but she handled it last time. But I worry for you Jackie, how will you and Pete cope?"

Jackie stood silent for a moment, lowering her gun. The prospect had been on her mind sometime before, but until Mickey mentioned it again she hadn't thought of it for a while. In truth she wanted her daughter to stay, but she remembered what Rose had said back at Canary Wharf. How she had chosen to stay with the Doctor for the rest of her life, until Pete had saved her from being sucked into the void.

At first, she was about to say she wasn't sure, or she didn't know. Suddenly however, footsteps echoed from one of the corridors. And then together, Mickey and Jackie sprung to alert while Sarah and Donna cautiously peeked around the corner of their hiding spot to see who was coming.

To their relief, it was not a crowd of prisoners escorted by a Dalek. Instead, it was a crowd of freed prisoners escorted by the raggedy new Doctor, his hair as scruffy as ever.

"Doctor!" Donna beamed, motioning for him to hide next to her.

"Good to see you too Miss Noble!" Whispered the Time Lord, then turning to Amy Pond. "These are my friends – they're going to help us. Now remember what I told you; organised chaos!"

Prominent as the fear of all the prisoners was, Amy just about managed to pull together a smile; "Don't worry Doctor. We've got your back."

Feeling almost sorry for the danger he was putting the prisoners into, the Doctor just nodded before heading to Donna's side.

With only seconds to spare, Daleks began flooding the main ground floor of the saucer. Accompanying them were more prisoners, none of whom seemed to have any vestige of spirit left in them. They numbered several hundreds, while the Daleks were much less in number - but they made up for that in sheer power. As the risk factors were increasing by every step of the plan, could the Doctor possibly succeed? There was only one way to find out.

Amidst the vibrations of the magnetic floor, the second in-command of the ship Dalek swept forwards like a moving King piece in a game of chess. Its observation of the prisoners in the deck was smooth and quick. Yet it was not fully satisfied.

"WHERE IS THE GUARD FOR PRISON BLOCK G?" It demanded, but the prisoners from Block G gave no answer, infuriating the Dalek. "YOU WILL ANSWER!"

Then, just as the Dalek glided in the direction of the Block G prisoners to investigate, Amy Pond and a few other prisoners dived forwards from their positions and grabbed hold of it. And what happened next was fantastic. Bit by bit, the human prisoners saw what was happening to their fellow homo-sapiens and gained the courage to fight back against the Daleks. It would be that same courage that would assist them during the next Dalek Invasion in the 22nd century, but whether that invasion would still occur remained to be seen, due to the interference with the timelines that this invasion theoretically caused.

Next, pumped with energy, Jackie and Mickey emerged from their hiding places and joined in with the fight. Their blasters proved a valuable asset in destroying at least some of the Daleks; and it was all that which proved to be a good enough distraction for the Doctor and Donna to sneak through all the chaos and head higher up into the saucer…

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! HUMAN REBELLION IN THE GROUND DECK! ALL DALEKS ENGAGE! EXTERMINATE THE HUMANS, RESISTING TEST SUBJECTS ARE OF NO USE FOR THE TESTING. EXTERMINATE THEM!" Boomed the voice of the commanding Dalek up in the control room. It relayed its orders into every functioning communications device in the saucer, determined to get the situation firmly under control.

But exterminating was more than just a way of getting rid of pests. It was like sport to a Dalek – it was their "entertainment", their only way of pleasing themselves in the human manner of speaking. Basically, it was an addiction – a murderous addiction that normally left them as the victor.

Therefore, the captain of the Dalek saucer could not afford to simply stay put while its crew handled the riot below; so it set off, opening the hatchway and then sweeping its way down the bronze corridors. And what a foolish move it was, since it gave the Doctor and Donna just the opportunity they needed to get into the control room!

"What do we do now?" Donna spoke quickly, feeling very tense.

"I'll have to do some maintenance here – stupid Dalek controls. Why don't they have buttons or levers?" Her friend grumped. "As for you, give sandshoes a call!"

Hurriedly, Donna flipped her mobile phone out of her pocket and dialled in the TARDIS mobile number. The meta-crisis Doctor picked up immediately, his over-excited voice almost depicting him as if he were in the same room; "Donna! What's the scoop, earth-girl?"

Frowning at the nickname he'd given her, Donna simply reported; "We're on! Bring the TARDIS to us!"

"ALLONS-Y!" The previous Doctor roared, just before the sound of an engine bellowed through the phone's speakers and he hung up.

"He's on his way Doctor. Just please be quick!" Donna gulped, as she heard the sound of fighting in the lower decks getting louder, with more chants of 'EXTERMINATE!' and blasts from either Mickey or Jackie or even the Daleks themselves.

The Time Lord was still fiddling with the inner workings of the control panels. Bit by bit he'd pulled both small wires, large cables and even some very alien circuitry. "I know, I know! I've not had to mess with Dalek controls often…Urrghhh. Can't use the screwdriver, or they'll detect its activity…."

"Well that's a first." Donna smirked. "I've lost track of how many times you've-" She paused for a moment in her words. Though was she was getting used to this new fella, it was still an odd thing to be talking to him about something his predecessor had done.

"Oh. You mean how many times the Doctor has used the sonic screwdriver? I thought that was what you meant." The Time Lord grinned.

"But the Doctor's you." Frowned Donna. Was the Time Lord making fun of her for not knowing how to address him and his meta-crisis duplicate?

As if he'd read her mind, the Time Lord gifted her comment with an expression of uncertainty. "Anyone can call themselves the Doctor – but I've always felt only a few can hold that title. Throughout the many lives I've lived, I always try to figure out who I am. Right now I only have a rough idea of who I'm going to be. What am I like Donna? Do you get the feeling that I'm going to find out soon?"

"I'm-…." The Chiswick temp pondered. "I'm sure you'll find out eventually, Doctor. You're always able to figure things out in the end."

However, to her surprise, the Doctor shook his head. "But there's one thing I still don't understand. Not even my other self has figured it out – you."

Taken aback, Donna's legs appeared to pull her back, mirroring her state of mind after her friend's comment. "Me? But I'm just a temp from Chiswick, what's so special about me?"

The Doctor nearly tripped over the cables as he whizzed around on a dime to face her, still plugging and unplugging various circuitry. "That's what I want to know. The meta-crisis, it can't have happened by accident. You heard my other self's heart beating – y'know, time-wimey stuff. A complex event – and those ripples going all around the 4th dimension, they've converged straight onto you…."

Mighty confusion was the only feeling that could be detected from Donna's reaction; "But why me?" She'd heard similar things back in the TARDIS when Rose was talking about the dimension cannon – timelines converging on her, and now the creation of the Meta-Crisis Doctor. But how in the universe was she at the centre of all it?

"Donna, before I got in the way, you touched my spare hand, I saw it!" The Time Lord suddenly raised his voice in realisation. "That's got mean something about you is important!"

"I keep telling you, I'm not!" She answered, feeling both intimidated and frustrated by her friend's insistence.

Then the Doctor froze – not touching any of the circuitry. It was as if more revelations had hit his hard-at-work Time Lord brain. "Wait a mo-Of course. How did I not realise? You really don't believe it. And he could see it in you….All that attitude you've got, all that shouting….You don't think you're worth as much.."

"Doctor, stop it." Donna's frustration rose. This was not something she wanted to discuss as it made her feel weary.

"No-no, I've got it. This isn't just about what you've done; it's all the circumstances…" The Doctor's mind felt scattered for a moment, as he could just imagine pieces of a complex puzzle only just starting to lock together in place. "Something tells me this was always meant to happen!"

And then it hit him straight in the face. Memories flooded his mind, recalling all the times he and Donna had met – her appearance in the TARDIS in Christmas 2007 as a Bride, then the time she had found him peering through the window of the Adipose Headquarters…And her grandfather Wilfred, who he'd seen last Christmas, only months before he was reunited with Donna…But that wasn't all!

"Donna, you were drawn into the TARDIS – I saw your grandad…And then out of nowhere you find me again!" His voice raced along as he remembered the events.

Donna at first didn't understand what he meant, but when she did her confusion reached a record high, as did her surprise.

The Doctor continued, almost transfixed by the revelation; And your car! Donna, you parked your car right where the Tardis was going to land! So that means…All this time, some unknown force has been tying our lives together…But why?"

"You're talking like... destiny. There's no such thing, is there?" Gasped Donna, not entirely sure what to believe.

Normally the Doctor was not one to believe in such a concept; though time and time again he'd heard prophecies and foretelling throughout his lives…Some had turned out false, but others had been shockingly true…"It's still not finished... Of course, there's still a whole lot to come…All those strands drawing together... But heading for what?"

Back in Hyde Park, the Meta-Crisis Doctor slammed on the brakes of the borrowed lorry. Winding down the window, he peered out towards the landscape of the famous London location. Earlier this place had been filled to the brim with chaos – people running for their lives as alien pepper pots touched down from amidst the 26 planets "in the sky". Now the only thing that could catch one's attention was the enormous Dalek Saucer sitting firmly on the grassy field. It was lighted up with a shiny bronze metallic structure, illuminated by the light coming from the 26 planets – yet now smoke could be seen coming from the middle. A fight had broken out inside, and the half-human half-Timelord knew precisely why that was so. So he had to act fast and get on with the second most important stage of the plan; getting the TARDIS into position.

Opening the door and leaping out of the lorry safely onto some grass below, the spiky-haired Doctor raced to the cargo trailers. Carefully unlocking the doors manually as he didn't have a Sonic Screwdriver, he sighed before him at the state of the Type 40 Capsule, still looking scorched and nearly lifeless from all the damage it had suffered. Normally at this stage the TARDIS would try to repair itself and lock out its owner until it was complete, but the energy drain had put that on hold for the time being.

"My poor TARDIS…" He thought, before he suddenly froze when an epiphany entered his mind – it wasn't really his TARDIS. It belonged to the Doctor – the new one with the scruffy hair and strange chin. As much as he hated to admit it, he was not the original. But he still had the memories of the real Doctor – everything. The time he left Gallifrey with his granddaughter Susan, the start of his time travelling adventures when his beloved TARDIS first got stuck in the shape of a Police Box, and all the many different faces he'd worn over the years. And lest he forget the Time War…All those horrors stayed with the proper Doctor, and there was no doubt that even this duplicate remembered. But his own existence put him a strange position – what was to be his future? If the real Doctor were to continue off in Time and Space with Donna, then what he have to do? What was he without the TARDIS? Without time and space to move along at his pleasure?

The Meta-Crisis duplicate shook his head. These thoughts were for later, as much as they were now sticking like glue in his brain. He still considered himself the Doctor; perhaps not the original but the definite article nonetheless. Yes, that was it, perhaps in a sense his existence was like regeneration, of a different kind…

He stepped slowly into the time machine, edging around the rubble of the coral pillars and heavily wrecked console. The time rotor was in tatters; most of the glass tube that surrounded it had been smashed to pieces and reduced to glass shards lying on the floor. The chair that he and his companions had always loved to lounge on, resting their feet on the console; had only not survived destruction. It lay on its side, separated from the stand that held it up.

However, his eyes were soon trained to the remains of the container that once housed his spare hand – or rather, the right hand he had formed from. It was a remarkable journey that this one limb had been on; falling from the Sycorax spaceship, to the end of the Universe and finally to the Medusa Cascade in a small pocket of time…

Making sure his mind didn't wander too far, the spiky-haired Doctor kneeled down beside the wrecked console and opened up the floor to pull out some cables. He needed to modify the wrecked console so that it would absorb arton energy from the Dalek ship, and then he had to remember what the TARDIS basecodes were so that his other self knew where to channel the energy. "Boy…" He thought; this was this going to take a while…

Thankfully, within a few minutes, Donna received a text from the previous Doctor just as the new one was making the finishing touches to the modified Dalek controls.

"Doctor!" She reported. "I've got the TARDIS basecodes from….The Doctor. What now?"

Smiling, the youthful looking Time Lord simply took one quick look at Donna's mobile phone and stated; "Geronimo."

He flicked the biggest switch on his makeshift Dalek control panel, only for the machine to spark and crackle. Frustrated, the Doctor fiddled with the systems again – the panel's lights then flickered momentarily before fading out again.

But as soon as the Time Lord slammed it against a wall it finally burst into life, relaying complex data to the Saucer's mainframe core. Then rigorously, the Doctor borrowed Donna's phone and plugged it into the machine, transferring the TARDIS basecodes on the text to the memory chips.

The two friends cheered in delight as they realised that their plan had worked; the Saucer was now channelling arton energy from its core and into the heart of the TARDIS; the eye of harmony.

At that very moment, the Meta-Crisis Doctor leaped up from leaning against the half-wrecked console and giddily grinned when despite some stutters, both lights and power returned to the Type 40 Time Capsule. It still wasn't in the greatest state, and clearly it needed some time to repair itself, but at the very least it had enough power to return them to the Crucible.

Overjoyed, he flicked a few switches on the remaining control panels, switching on the battered viewscreen so that he could see how well the TARDIS was charging. Instead though, the viewscreen appeared to malfunction, and displayed what the scanner was showing outside – the Dalek spaceship was still looking slightly damaged from the fighting within the interior, except now it was on fire.

And then a massive shockwave burst from within, shaking Hyde Park and its trees alongside the TARDIS exterior, forming into a small but deadly explosion. The previous Doctor stared sternly at the scanner's image, worried that if his other self didn't hurry, then things could go awry…

Back on board the Saucer, the scruffy-haired Doctor began to panic again, hopping up like a frog as the explosion from the lower decks rocked the control room.

"About time we make a run for it Miss Noble, run like a rabbit!" He cried; grabbing Donna's hand and dashing into the nearest corridor exit.

In seconds however, they came to a dead end – a locked automatic door was blocking their path. And there was only one way to open it.

"Oh blimey." Muttered the Doctor. "I've got no choice, they'll know we're here but we can get out without the Screwdriver. Brace yourself Donna, this might not end well!"

Suddenly, Donna's cell phone, which she'd retrieved from the Doctor's makeshift Dalek panel, buzzed again. The Chiswick Temp worriedly examined the screen, and reported; "It's Sarah Jane, something must've happened!"

As he unlocked the door with the Sonic Screwdriver, the youthful looking Time Lord borrowed the phone again, desperate to know whether his one of his most treasured companions was safe. "Hello, Sarah?"

"Doctor….I can hear you.." His companion's voice whispered back. She sounded terrified, as if she were frozen still in horror. "Please, you've got to get down here….The Daleks….It's horrible. I had to hide in a compartment just so I could be safe, but they could find me at any moment…"

The Doctor breathed. He knew Sarah had been in difficult situations before, but somehow he didn't recall her sounding as fearful as she did now. Optimistically, he spoke softly through the phone; "It's alright Sarah, calm down. We're finished, just stay where you are-"

"Okay…Okay…" Sarah stuttered slightly through the phone. "I don't know how long Jackie and Mickey can hold them off….The other prisoners, they're dying out there….And there was this Scottish woman…She told me you'd helped them escape-"

But the Doctor had hung up before she could finish her sentence. He'd been reminded of a horrible notion that he'd considered back in the cell – so he ran.

Without holding onto Donna, he raced through the corridors – leaving no other thoughts to distract him as he mentally withdrew from his important task.

He kept running and running.

And going and going…

He descended lower and lower through the Saucer, Donna calling after him in concern; her voice echoing ever so slightly. But the Doctor didn't seem to process her words….


End file.
